"Interstate 495 (Maine)" redirects here. For the former alignment of I-495 in Maine prior to 2004, see
Interstate 95 in Maine.
The Falmouth Spur is a short freeway connecting Interstate 95 (I-95) with I-295 and US Route 1 (US 1) north of Portland, Maine, in the United States. It carries the unsigned designation of Interstate 495 (I-495). As part of the Maine Turnpike, the mainline of which carries I-95, the Falmouth Spur is a toll road. The spur has only two interchanges—one at each end—and a toll booth in the middle. It is signed only for its destinations—I-95, I-295, and US 1[2]—to minimize driver confusion.[3]
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Prior to January 2004, the Falmouth Spur carried I-95 from the Maine Turnpike mainline to the spur's eastern terminus, where I-95 continued north along present-day I-295.[4] In 2004, I-95 was rerouted to follow the entire length of the turnpike in order to reduce confusion.[5] Most of the former I-95 between Portland and Augusta became an extension of I-295, while the short Falmouth Spur was given the unsigned I-495 designation.
Destinations on signs (control cities) on the Falmouth Spur are the same as when it was part of I-95—Falmouth and Freeport for eastbound traffic from I-95 and Lewiston and Kittery (one for each direction of the turnpike) for westbound traffic from US 1. Signs on I-295 southbound point traffic for New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and "points south" along the spur.[2]
Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices-compliant milemarkers proceed easterly from the western end with the letters FS (for Falmouth Spur) horizontally on a line below the word "MILE" and range from 0 to 3.
The Falmouth Spur was built as part of the second phase—Portland to Augusta—of the Maine Turnpike, opened December 13, 1955,[7] as well to alleviate traffic on Falmouth Road, the town's east to west connector, connecting SR 9 (Middle Road) with SR 26/SR 100 (Gray Road). The spur connected exit 8, a trumpet interchange with the mainline turnpike, with exit 9, another trumpet at US 1 in Falmouth. (The west end later became exit 9—exit 8 was moved south to the new Westbrook interchange—and the east end became exit 15 on I-95.) The tollbooth was just west of US 1, right where the spur now crosses over I-295.[8][9] The part of US 1 that it connected to had been built c. 1948 as a realignment (old US 1 is SR 88), and the spur connected the turnpike, which headed inland at Portland, with US 1, a major route to and beyond Brunswick via the shore.[10]
When the Interstate Highway System was designed in the 1940s and 1950s, the main route along the East Coast, numbered I-95 in 1957, was assigned to the route via Brunswick to Augusta. Thus, the Falmouth Spur became I-95, and the turnpike was unnumbered between the spur and Gardiner. Around 1960, the piece of I-95 (now I-295) north of the spur was completed, and a partial interchange was added at its crossing with the spur.[10] The tollbooth was moved west at that time.[citation needed]
The turnpike stayed unnumbered between Falmouth and Gardiner until around 1988, when it was added to the Interstate System as I-495.[11] This allowed it to have a speed limit higher than the National Maximum Speed Limit of 55 mph (89 km/h), as per the Surface Transportation and Uniform Relocation Assistance Act.[citation needed]
In 2002, the Maine Department of Transportation (MaineDOT) submitted a proposal to the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) to relocate I-95 along I-495 and extend I-295 along I-95 to Gardiner, leaving the Falmouth Spur unnumbered. This was approved by AASHTO on November 5, 2002, with one change—the Falmouth Spur was assigned the I-495 designation.[12] The MaineDOT and Maine Turnpike Authority (MTA) decided not to sign or publicize I-495 to minimize confusion;[3] maps of the changes distributed to the public included the remark "existing I-95 becomes a ramp" or just "Falmouth Spur" pointing to the spur. Signs were changed from January 5 to 10, 2004.[13][5] A prominent sign was posted near the New Hampshire state line informing travelers of the change and that the information center had new maps.[2]