Interstate 495 | ||||
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Falmouth Spur | ||||
Route information | ||||
Maintained by MTA | ||||
Length: | 3.70 mi (5.95 km) | |||
History: | Established November 5, 2002, by AASHTO Signed in January 2004 |
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Major junctions | ||||
West end: | I‑95 / Maine Turnpike in Portland | |||
East end: | I‑295 / US 1 in Falmouth | |||
Highway system | ||||
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Interstate 495 (I-495) is the unsigned designation for the Falmouth Spur, a short freeway connecting I-95 with I-295 and U.S. Route 1 (US 1) north of Portland, Maine, in the United States. As part of the Maine Turnpike, the main line of which carries I-95, I-495 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—to minimize driver confusion.
Prior to January 2004, I-495 was a 50.47-mile-long (81.22 km) section of the Maine Turnpike, running from the west end of the Falmouth Spur (which carried Interstate 95) north to the present junction with I-295 at Gardiner (south of Augusta). This was re-signed as I-95 in order to designate the whole turnpike as I-95 and thus reduce confusion. 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 Interstate 495 designation.
Destinations on signs (control cities) 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 I-495.