Boothbay Bippage - 2006-02-01

Boothbay Bippage
Portland to Boothbay, ME - 2005-01-02

Thumbnails open the snaps in a new window. Close to return here.

Advance signage for j10 on I-295 northbound.

Have you considered a vacation in Maine this winter?
Come see the majestic rock cuts!

DeLorme HQ in Yarmouth, baby!
That's Earth's biggest globe, save for the globe itself.
Looking across the j17 ramp and US-1.

Approaching the Freeport town line on I-295.
That's US-1 still hugging I-205 to the right.

Crossing over the Royal River.
US-1 remained as the northbound lanes of I-95 here till the `80s.
Until the `80s, US-1 and 295 NB served as a duplex of of US-1/I-95.
Hard to imagine - and now there's talk of six-laning I-295 from Portland to Brunswick.

Hey look! It's j22!

A couple shots of the US-1 connector merging in in the distance.

Looking east on the US-1 connector (AKA exit 28 of I-295).
US-1 South enters via the slip on the left, leaving on the right in the background. This weave motion is very short, and making it is rather hairy.
There's a sign assembly identical to the one on the right with a "FREEPORT -->" LGS bunged on top of it on the left just after the slip merges in.

I think perhaps a 90° junction at about the location of the camera, controlled by stop sign for US-1 SB and a flashing beacon, would be more appropriate.
This was listed on my wrong-way multiplex page for 3 months before it occurred to me that US-1 and the US-1 connector are not the same, and that the two directions do not in fact share pavement here. Duh. Be always happy with Terraserver aerial photo.

At the 3rd signal from the Connector, US-1 makes a left onto Mill St.
A two-lane surface street along the banks of the Androscoggin for the last little connection to the freeway to Bath.

"Move." "No, you move!"
The lower deck of this bridge has one lane for autos.

Up a hill only to go down a cut...
Visibility at the first interchange leaves a bit to be desired.

Passing under Main St.
US-201 begins here, leaving to the left.
But a left turn is not permitted from the end of the frontage road, so the exit is only signed for ME-24 S.

"Coastal Connector" Brunswick-Topsham bypass interchange.
The rail bridge mostly obscures the middle level.

Mmm, BGS. Delicious.

View approaching the junction.

Up close & personal with one of two 3-level interchanges in the state.

There are 5 exits on the full freeway portion of US-1, all unnumbered.
B.N.A.S. is scheduled to close in 2011, IIRC.

Just out of the view of the above snap,
we have some swell views of the Adroscoggin river alongside the southbound lanes.
Pretent this particular view is swell too.

Good view of the dirt on my windshield here, with the Cook's Corner interchange in the background.

Descending into the New Meadows River valley.
The New Meadows Rd interchange is the town of West Bath's only access to a signed state highway.

Looking out to the right, the Maine Coast line crosses the New Meadows with Old US-1 not too visible behind it.

Put the brakes on!
Bath City line and 35 MPH at the bottom of this hill.

A hook ramp to Leeman Highway, AKA old US-1.
Heading North it turns into an onramp for route 1,
which becomes a RIRO expressway until High St.
The street sign in front of the speed limit reads "ROUTE 1 NORTH".

Passing under High St, the end of ME-209.

The Bath Viaduct dates to 1959.
They're starting to make some rumblings about what to do when the time comes to replace it.
The Bath Route 1 Study website appears to be down.

New and old side by side:
The fixed-span Sagadahoc Bridge opened in 2000, and is built to accomodate a 4-lane viaduct.
The two-lane Carlton Bridge opened in 1927, and still carries the Maine Coast Railroad over the Kennebec river.

Looking south from the Sagadahoc Bridge.
Bath Iron Works can be seen on the riverfront below.

George Wright Rd, old US-1, leaves to the right in the background.
The present alignment was built sometime between 1945 and 1957.
Below right alongside the row of utility poles is an old pre-`45 grade of route 1, barely above the level of the marsh.

Looking along Weston Rd, once part of US-1 along with George Wright Rd.

Route 1! Yessah bud!

Roadside turist trap. Ayup.

Near the Woolwich / Wiscasset town line.
I'd swear this is a different restaurant every month.

END!

I understand this building's been hit by runaway trucks a number of times.

A quick li'l detour around Lee St & Fore St.

Water St, facing north at US-1:
This unassuming litte eatery and the crosswalk are a prime reason route 1 traffic backs up for miles in the summer.
Curse them.