U.S. Route 1 | |||||||
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Route information | |||||||
Maintained by MaineDOT | |||||||
Length: | 527 mi (848 km) | ||||||
Existed: | 1926 – present | ||||||
Major junctions | |||||||
South end: | US 1 in Portsmouth, NH | ||||||
I-95 in Kittery I-195 in Saco I-295 in Portland /Yarmouth US 302/SR 100 in Portland Falmouth Spur (I-495) in Falmouth SR 9 in Calais US 2 in Houlton I-95 in Houlton SR 161 in Caribou |
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North end: | Route 161 in Clair, NB | ||||||
Location | |||||||
Counties: | York, Cumberland, Sagadahoc, Lincoln, Knox, Waldo, Hancock, Washington, Aroostook | ||||||
Highway system | |||||||
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In the U.S. state of Maine, U.S. Route 1 (US 1) is a major north–south state highway serving the eastern part of the state. It parallels the Atlantic Ocean from New Hampshire north through Portland, Brunswick, and Belfast to Calais, and then the St. Croix River and the rest of the Canada–US border via Houlton to Fort Kent. The portion along the ocean, known as the Coastal Route, provides a scenic alternate to Interstate 95.
Route 1 enters Maine from New Hampshire by bridging the Piscataqua River at Kittery on the Memorial Bridge. However, this bridge was abruptly closed in July 2011 due to structural defects with a new bridge planned to replace it. That new bridge opened in the summer of 2013. Following the sandy southern Maine coast, the highway bridges the Cape Neddick River in Cape Neddick, Josias River and Ogunquit River in Ogunquit, the Webhannet River in Wells, and Merriland River, Mousam River and Kennebunk River in Kennebunk. After bridging the Saco River between Biddeford and Saco the highway bridges the Nonesuch River in Scarborough.