History

The history of I-95 in Maine is connected to that of the Maine Turnpike. First proposed in 1941 as a cross-state toll highway (before the announcement of the Interstate system), the state declined to provide funding and announced the turnpike would be financed entirely from tolls. The first section, opened between Kittery and Portland in 1947, is designated a national civil engineering landmark. In 1955, the Turnpike was extended northward from Portland to Augusta, with a spur to Falmouth. This section was designated Interstate 495 in 1988.

By that time, the concept of the national Interstate system were announced, and any plans for northward extensions of the Turnpike were abandoned in favor of a toll-free Interstate from Augusta northward. 95 was the only "mainline" two-digit interstate slated to enter Maine, and assumed the Turnpike's routing south of Portland. Between Falmouth (where 95 would leave the Maine Turnpike via the Falmouth Spur) and Augusta, a new free alignment was to be constructed via Brunswick (as opposed to the Maine Turnpike's routing through the Lewiston-Auburn region). Motorists would not be completely spared from tolls on the new 95, as a toll booth was constructed where the two highways met in West Gardiner, just south of Augusta. The section between Falmouth and Brunswick opened in 1957, although part of it in the Yarmouth and Freeport areas remained sub-standard with at-grade intersections until the mid-1980s. A bridge to Topsham opened in 1973, and the segment between Topsham and West Gardiner did not open until 1977.

North of Augusta, construction of I-95 continued through the 1950s and 1960s, with a small section in Bangor (between Odlin Road and Hammond Street) already opened as part of US 2 by 1955. The rest of the Bangor bypass opened in 1960. The highway was extended north from Augusta to Fairfield in 1960, from Newport to Orono (including the already-open Bangor bypass) in 1961, from Fairfield to Newport in 1964, and from Orono to the Canadian border in 1967. This northern section was only two lanes until it was twinned completely in 1981.  

The southern end of the Maine Turnpike, at Kittery, was not connected to New Hampshire until the opening of the Piscataqua River Bridge to Portsmouth in 1977. The original section of the Maine Turnpike began to show its wear, tear and congestion by the 1990s, and a widening from 4 to 6 lanes from Portland to Kittery took place in the early 2000s.

A major redesignation of highway and exit numbers took place in January 2004. The former sequential exit system (1,2,3...) was replaced with a mileage based exit numbering system; and I-95's routing from Portland to West Gardiner was changed to follow the Maine Turnpike, formerly I-495. The former I-95 was redesignated I-295, which was extended north from Falmouth; while the Falmouth Spur lost its signed numerical designation but became secret route 495.

Guide - under construction

Future Plans

A very long-term plan calls for an extension of I-95 north of Houlton, eventually to the St. John Valley in far northern Maine. Early plans call for a bypass of Presque Isle and Caribou. Construction on these could start in 2009.

Exit List

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