State Route 3 (SR 3) is a

state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...

located in southern

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and nor ...

. It is a major interregional highway, connecting the

Interstate 95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the Canadia ...

corridor to the Atlantic coast. The western terminus is at SR 8, SR 11 and SR 27 in Augusta and the eastern terminus is at SR 102 and SR 198 in Mount Desert. Major cities and towns along the length of SR 3 include Augusta,

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

, Ellsworth, and Bar Harbor.

Route description

SR 3 begins at Civic Center Drive ( SR 8/ SR 11/ SR 27) in the northwest corner of Augusta. SR 3 heads east using the Augusta Bypass, a controlled-access road completed in 2004 to alleviate congestion in the city center caused by traffic headed to and from I-95. The bypass ends at North Belfast Avenue ( US 202/ SR 9) on the east end of Augusta. SR 3 runs concurrently with US 202 and SR 9 (the Belfast Road) to the village of

South China South China () is a geographical and cultural region that covers the southernmost part of China. Its precise meaning varies with context. A notable feature of South China in comparison to the rest of China is that most of its citizens are not n ...

, where US 202 and SR 9 split to the north. SR 3 continues east to the city of

, where it interchanges with US 1 west of downtown. US 1 and SR 3 run concurrently for over from Belfast through Bucksport, crossing the Penobscot Narrows Bridge over the

Penobscot River The Penobscot River (Abenaki: ''Pαnawάhpskewtəkʷ'') is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 22, 2011 river in the U.S. state of Maine. Including the river's ...

. SR 15 joins US 1 and SR 3 in downtown Bucksport and splits to the south in

Orland Orland or Ørland is the name, or part of the name, of a number of places and people: Places Canada * Orland, Saskatchewan Norway *Ørland, a municipality United States * Orland, California * Orland, Georgia *Orland, Indiana *Orland, Maine * Orla ...

after . US 1 and SR 3 continue along the Acadia Highway to the city of Ellsworth. SR 3 leaves US 1 at The Triangle, an intersection at the south end of Ellsworth that has been the center of numerous traffic problems within that cit

Entering the Trenton, Maine, Trenton township, the remainder of the route is designated as the Acadia All-American Road. Continuing south through Trenton, the route crosses a

causeway A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet Tr ...

Mount Desert Island Mount Desert Island (MDI; french: Île des Monts Déserts) in Hancock County, Maine, is the largest island off the coast of Maine. With an area of it is the 52nd-largest island in the United States, the sixth-largest island in the contiguous ...

and intersects with SR 102 and SR 198, which run along the island's western side. SR 3 turns east follows the eastern shore to the tourist town of Bar Harbor, then continues south through Acadia National Park to the village of Northeast Harbor. SR 3 intersects with SR 198 and turns north towards the village of

Somesville Somesville is the earliest village of the town of Mount Desert, Maine, Mount Desert on Mount Desert Island in southeastern Maine. It is located on the north end of Somes Sound. The village was established by Abraham Somes who was the first settl ...

. SR 3 and SR 198 intersect with SR 102 in Somesville; SR 3 ends and SR 198 turns north onto SR 102, eventually meeting SR 3 again near the Mount Desert Island causeway. On the southern end of Mount Desert Island, and along the concurrency with SR 198, SR 3 signs lack directional indicators. This was intentionally done to avoid confusion, as a motorist on the southern part of the island driving on SR 3 westbound is actually traveling ''east'' (and vice versa). SR 3 signs along this stretch have "Route" in place of directional banners. Directional signs begin appearing westbound and stop appearing eastbound just east of Seal Harbor when the highway begins to loop around the island.

History

When originally designated in 1933, the western terminus of SR 3 was located in downtown Portland. It was cosigned on sections of SR 26, SR 4 and SR 11 between Portland and Augusta. In 1946-7, the western portion of the route was truncated to Augusta and its western terminus was moved to the intersection of Bangor Street and North Belfast Avenue, where it began cosigned with US 202 and SR 9. In 2004, the Augusta Bypass was completed, providing a connection between I-95 and points east which bypasses downtown Augusta. SR 3 was rerouted onto the new bypass, proceeding northwest to a new interchange at exit 113. The bypass connected to North Belfast Avenue where SR 3 joined US 202/SR 9 and continued its existing route eastward. In 2013, the bypass was extended west of I-95 to connect with Old Belgrade Road and serve the new Alfond Center for Health and Cancer Center. The Exit 113 interchange was reconfigured to provide full access and SR 3 was extended along the northern segment of Old Belgrade Road to its present western terminus at Civic Center Drive (SR 8/SR 11/SR 27).

Junction list

References

External links

{{commons category-inline, Maine State Route 3 003 Transportation in Kennebec County, Maine Transportation in Waldo County, Maine Transportation in Hancock County, Maine

Route description

History

Junction list

See also

References

External links