Don Carrigan
It’s easy to take highways for granted, until the one you need doesn’t exist.
People in downeast Maine have known that for decades, as they lived at the far end of roads that never quite reached the major highway system—until now.
Two weeks ago, the Maine DOT officially opened a new, 6-mile highway that connected the storied “Airline” route from Washington County to I-395 in Eddington and Brewer. From there, trucks and cars can go just about anywhere on the U.S. interstate system.
“It’s a rare event,” Maine DOT Commissioner Bruce Van Note told the crowd at the dedication, noting that the agency spends most of its time and dollars maintaining and rebuilding or replacing existing roads and bridges.
This one, officially called the I-395/ Route 9 Corridor, is different. It is a brand-new, 6-mile, $107 million stretch of limited-access highway, which had been in the talking, debating, and planning stages ever since I-385 was built from Bangor to Brewer. That four-lane, divided highway was designed to move truck and tourist traffic away from the downtown area of the two cities, and speed it along towards Ellsworth and Bar Harbor.
