Floodgap Roadgap's RoadsAroundME: Maine State Route 25

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Maine State Route 25

<< Maine State Route 24 All Points in Maine Maine State Route 25C >>

Termini and Mileage (2006)

Termini
Main alignment: Int of STATE ST, PARK AVE., Portland to End of ST RTE 25, Porter
Mileage
Main alignment: 42.2 miles (total over all segments)

Regional and National Route Information

History as New England Interstate (1925)
Originally signed in Maine as part of NEI 25, except for the Westbrook Arterial.

Notes and History
ME 25 is one of Maine's original routes, a local arterial serving the southwest corner of the state via Standish, Cornish and Porter. As a two-digit NEI, it has always crossed the New Hampshire state line. In the present day it is particularly noteworthy for the Westbrook Arterial, ME 25's controlled access alignment in Westbrook and metropolitan Portland, which had been on the books as far back as the 1960s; a small portion was built in the late 1970s but the project was backburnered due to environmental impact wrangling and the Arterial did not get across I-95 and the Maine Turnpike until 2001; the Turnpike Rand Road interchange did not open until 3 December 2002. It is unclear but possible if plans existed to extend it to present-day I-295, but this is a proposition unlikely to ever come to pass due to the environmentally sensitive areas it would cross. It is built at this writing with a single interchange, arguably making it a freeway (but see US 1); the old alignment survives as part of Business 25, which seems to be designated as ME 25C. Note that the current alignments along William L. Clarke Drive and Wayside Drive were not original routing either (the original routing on Main St is also part of ME 25C), and the small stub from the western end of the Arterial to Main St was never part of the routing of either one. The MDOT route logs refer to this connector as "Road to 25" and do not mark it as part of either highway.
Rand Road and all portions of the Westbrook Arterial, including the extension to I-95 that originally was not part of the routing until 2006-7, are now part of the current ME 25 routing (Eric Bryant). NAVTEQ still shows the previous routing. The old routing up Larabee Rd, Main St and the western portion of Brighton Ave is now also part of ME 25C (Business 25).
The 2008 Gorham bypass, part of ME 112, is intended to offload some of the ME 25 and ME 114 traffic from the town centre. It is, however, not part of ME 25 proper.
Like ME 22 and ME 26, ME 25 terminates in this version of the route log at State and Park Ave/US 1 and ME 77 in downtown Portland. This is a bit less awkward than it is for ME 22 as by this point it is well east of the one-way portion. ME 25 has in fact always ultimately terminated at US 1, but the actual point at which it terminated has wandered somewhat in the past. Its earliest routing is suggested by a 1937 WPA map, showing ME 3/ME 25/ME 26/ME 100 and US 302 coming down along Forest Ave and State St to intersect a secondary alignment of US 1 which was then running along State and Danforth. On this map, ME 25 is also seen routed on Winslow St to Forest Ave in order to make the connection. This routing is not seen by 1949 and ME 25 is seen descending on Deering instead (which was also the routing of US 302 for some period; see US 302), and terminating at the corner of Deering and Park. There is still an END sign there, similar to the situation with ME 26 and ME 22 itself, although some maps (including current NAVTEQ) show ME 25 continuing on Deering past US 1 which does not seem to have ever been part of the routing. After ME 77 was shifted to State St in 1955, the administrative terminus was adjusted to use that route's junction with US 1 as the end point.
Now that US 1 has been shifted to I-295, it is possible, but unknown, that ME 25's administrative terminus will move again.
See also ME 25C and ME 25W.
ME 25 is a multi-state route with New Hampshire; see also ME 4, ME 9, ME 11, ME 16, ME 26, ME 109 and ME 110.

Additional Resources
Maine Roads - Route 25 (JP Kirby)
Westbrook, guy! -- Westbrook Arterial and Business 25 (Eric Bryant)
Gorham Bypass Opens (December 2008, WCSH-TV Portland)
New Turnpike Exit 7B to Open Tuesday (MDOT, December 2, 2002)

<< Maine State Route 24 All Points in Maine Maine State Route 25C >>

Routing information is property of the Maine Department of Transportation, based on most current data available at time of this writing. No warranty or guarantee is expressed or implied regarding this routing's suitability for travel or resemblance to fact. RoadsAroundME is not affiliated with, sponsored by or funded by the taxpayers of the state of Maine, or the Maine Department of Transportation.
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Termini and Mileage (2006)	Termini Main alignment: Int of STATE ST, PARK AVE., Portland to End of ST RTE 25, Porter Mileage Main alignment: 42.2 miles (total over all segments)

*Regional and National Route Information*	History as New England Interstate (1925) Originally signed in Maine as part of NEI 25, except for the Westbrook Arterial.

*Notes and History*	ME 25 is one of Maine's original routes, a local arterial serving the southwest corner of the state via Standish, Cornish and Porter. As a two-digit NEI, it has always crossed the New Hampshire state line. In the present day it is particularly noteworthy for the Westbrook Arterial, ME 25's controlled access alignment in Westbrook and metropolitan Portland, which had been on the books as far back as the 1960s; a small portion was built in the late 1970s but the project was backburnered due to environmental impact wrangling and the Arterial did not get across I-95 and the Maine Turnpike until 2001; the Turnpike Rand Road interchange did not open until 3 December 2002. It is unclear but possible if plans existed to extend it to present-day I-295, but this is a proposition unlikely to ever come to pass due to the environmentally sensitive areas it would cross. It is built at this writing with a single interchange, arguably making it a freeway (but see US 1); the old alignment survives as part of Business 25, which seems to be designated as ME 25C. Note that the current alignments along William L. Clarke Drive and Wayside Drive were not original routing either (the original routing on Main St is also part of ME 25C), and the small stub from the western end of the Arterial to Main St was never part of the routing of either one. The MDOT route logs refer to this connector as "Road to 25" and do not mark it as part of either highway. Rand Road and all portions of the Westbrook Arterial, including the extension to I-95 that originally was not part of the routing until 2006-7, are now part of the current ME 25 routing (Eric Bryant). NAVTEQ still shows the previous routing. The old routing up Larabee Rd, Main St and the western portion of Brighton Ave is now also part of ME 25C (Business 25). The 2008 Gorham bypass, part of ME 112, is intended to offload some of the ME 25 and ME 114 traffic from the town centre. It is, however, not part of ME 25 proper. Like ME 22 and ME 26, ME 25 terminates in this version of the route log at State and Park Ave/US 1 and ME 77 in downtown Portland. This is a bit less awkward than it is for ME 22 as by this point it is well east of the one-way portion. ME 25 has in fact always ultimately terminated at US 1, but the actual point at which it terminated has wandered somewhat in the past. Its earliest routing is suggested by a 1937 WPA map, showing ME 3/ME 25/ME 26/ME 100 and US 302 coming down along Forest Ave and State St to intersect a secondary alignment of US 1 which was then running along State and Danforth. On this map, ME 25 is also seen routed on Winslow St to Forest Ave in order to make the connection. This routing is not seen by 1949 and ME 25 is seen descending on Deering instead (which was also the routing of US 302 for some period; see US 302), and terminating at the corner of Deering and Park. There is still an END sign there, similar to the situation with ME 26 and ME 22 itself, although some maps (including current NAVTEQ) show ME 25 continuing on Deering past US 1 which does not seem to have ever been part of the routing. After ME 77 was shifted to State St in 1955, the administrative terminus was adjusted to use that route's junction with US 1 as the end point. Now that US 1 has been shifted to I-295, it is possible, but unknown, that ME 25's administrative terminus will move again. See also ME 25C and ME 25W. ME 25 is a multi-state route with New Hampshire; see also ME 4, ME 9, ME 11, ME 16, ME 26, ME 109 and ME 110.

*Additional Resources*	Maine Roads - Route 25 (JP Kirby) Westbrook, guy! -- Westbrook Arterial and Business 25 (Eric Bryant) Gorham Bypass Opens (December 2008, WCSH-TV Portland) New Turnpike Exit 7B to Open Tuesday (MDOT, December 2, 2002)