State Route 9 (Maine)

State Route 9

Route of SR 9 highlighted in red

Route information

Maintained by MaineDOT

Length:

289.09 mi (465.25 km)

Existed:

1925, 2007 (current alignment) – present

Major junctions

West end:

NH 9 / NH 236 in Somersworth, NH

East end:

Ferry Point International Bridge to

Route 170 in St. Stephen, NB, Canada

Location

Counties:

York, Cumberland, Kennebec, Penobscot, Washington

Highway system

Maine State Highway System

← SR 8		SR 9A →
← Route 1	N.E.	Route 11 →

State Route 9 (SR 9) is a numbered state highway in Maine, running from the New Hampshire border at Berwick in the west to the Canada–US border with New Brunswick at Calais in the east. SR 9 runs a total of 289 miles (465 km).

State Route 9 is a meandering highway that works its way from New Hampshire to Canada. It frequently runs concurrent with other highways listed below and also frequently changes direction. For instance, in Kennebunk, State Route 9 travels in a westerly direction even though it is signed as eastbound. State Route 9 runs through most of Maine's major cities including Biddeford, Saco, South Portland, Portland, Augusta, and Bangor. Its leg from Bangor to Calais is often referred to as "The Airline" commonly thought to be due to its shorter route than the older U.S. 1. (Before the coming of air travel, the term often referred to such a shortcut.) Although anecdotes about unexploded ordnance deriving from bombers flying from the former Dow Air Force Base (now Bangor International Airport) using a number of towers and landmarks along "The Airline", in fact the term goes back to the early 1850s as a contrast to the shoreline route. The last section of "The Airline" was paved in 1973 in Crawford and many old sections of the road are visible to the side of the present roadway. The "Whale's Back", a 2-mile stretch built atop an esker in Hancock County was one of the most notable features of the highway until it was rebuilt.

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Wikipedia