U.S. Route 201 or U.S. Highway 201 (US 201) is a north–south intrastate U.S. Route that is part of the nationwide system of United States Numbered Highways. It runs for 157.46 miles (253.41 km) entirely within the state of Maine and is a spur route of U.S. Route 1. Its southern terminus is in Brunswick at US 1 and Maine State Route 24 Business. Its northern terminus is at the Canada–US border near Jackman (a terminus it shares with Maine State Route 6), where it connects to Quebec Route 173.
Between Solon and its northern terminus, US 201 is known as the Old Canada Road National Scenic Byway.
Route description[]
US 201 begins in Brunswick along ME 24 Business (former ME 24) at an interchange with US 1 south of the bridge over Androscoggin River. Then it heads to Topsham before it overpasses I-295 with no interchange. US 201 heads north as it runs along the Cobbosseecontee Stream and head towards south of West Gardiner, where it interchanges with Interstate 295 at Exit 49. US 201 then continues northeast to Gardiner, where it follows the Kennebec River. The route becomes a parallel route of Interstate 95, which I-295 just ended. US 201 continues north as it heads up to Augusta, where US 202 joins with US 201 north of downtown, crossing the Kennebec River on the Memorial Bridge. US 202 departs to the northeast while US 201 continues north, intersecting Maine State Route 3. US 201 then heads north towards Winslow, then bridges the Kennebec, then enters into Waterville. Then it heads to Fairfield, where it interchanges I-95 at Exit 133 north of the town. As US 201 leaves I-95 to the north, it continues paralleling the Kennebec River. Next, in Skowhegan, US 201 intersects the southern terminus of US 201A, crossing the Kennebec River, concurrent with US 2 on the island, and then as it heads north of the river, US 2 departs the concurrency to the east and US 201 continues north, leaving away from the Kennebec. North of Skowhegan, US 201 has an interchange with fictional Interstate 92 in the Intertropolis & Routeville series. US 201 then continues northwest heading to Solon, where it parallels the Kennebec River again.and intersects the northern terminus of US 201A. A former alignment designated US 201A runs through the towns of Madison and Norridgewock. Between Solon, Maine to its northern terminus at the Canadian border, US 201 is named the "Old Canada Road National Scenic Byway". US 201 continues north along the Kennebec heading to Bingham, intersects with ME 16. The highway crosses the Appalachian Trail at Caratunk, Maine. In The Forks, US 201 crosses the Kennebec River for the late time, where it winds away to the northwest from the river and runs up into the north woods mountains. North of The Forks, US 201 climbs in elevation over Johnson Mountain and around Coburn Mountain near Upper Enchanted and Parlin Pond Townships. Before reaching Jackman, the road peaks at the Attean Pond Lookout, a popular rest area, before descending into town. US 201 intersects the northern end of ME 15 in Jackman and is cosigned with ME 6 for the remaining 16.4 miles (26.4 km) north to the Canadian border. The road continues through parts of Moose River and Dennistown before reaching the Armstrong-Jackman Border Crossing at Sandy Bay Township. US 201 and ME 6 ends as the highway crosses into Quebec, Canada and becomes Route 173.
History[]
US 201 follows old river trading routes of the Abenaki people. Parts of Benedict Arnold's expedition to Quebec took place along the route that today make up US 201. On June 15, 2000, the route was designated a National Scenic Byway.
US 201 used to be New England Interstate Route 20 (NEI 20) in the 1920s, part of the New England Road Marking System. The original 1922 plan had NEI 20 starting in Portland. The southern half was later shifted east to start in Brunswick (the realignment may have been done prior to actual signing of the route). The southern end of the original NEI 20 is now ME 100 from Portland to Augusta. The Brunswick end of the original NEI 20 intersected with NEI 1 (which is now US 1), which remained the southern terminus of US 201 until the construction of the US 1 freeway, at which point its terminus was moved to its current location on ME 24.
Since its designation in 1926, US 201 has only undergone one major realignment. The original highway used to run through Norridgewock, Anson, and Madison on its way to Solon. In 1954, US 201 was moved to a new eastern alignment which completely bypasses this area and the existing alignment was redesignated US 201A. US 201 has also undergone various other minor route adjustments, but largely maintains its original 1926 routing.
Major intersections[]
Special route[]
- Main article: U.S. Route 201A
U.S. Route 201A or U.S. Highway 201A (US 201A) is the designation of a former alignment of US 201 in the towns of Skowhegan, Norridgewock, Madison and Anson. The route is 26.18 miles (42.13 km) long and forms a western loop of US 201, which was rerouted in 1954 to bypass to the east. US 201A runs along the Kennebec River over its entire length.
The southern terminus of US 201A is at US 2, US 201 and State Route 104 in Skowhegan. The northern terminus is at US 201 in Anson, a terminus it shares with State Route 8.
US 201A is also part of the Arnold Highway (named for Benedict Arnold), established in 1931 over the original US 201.
US 201A is completely overlapped with other routes due to various realignments of the routes signed over it.
Route description[]
US 201A begins in Skowhegan just south of the Kennebec River, at an intersection with US 2, US 201, and ME 104 (which has its northern terminus here). US 201A begins overlapped with US 2 and the two routes proceed southwest along the southern bank of the river on the way to Norridgewock. Upon reaching town, the highway intersects with ME 8 and ME 139. ME 139 has its western terminus at this intersection while ME 8 northbound joins the concurrency. Just to the west, US 2 splits off to the southwest, while US 201A goes to the northwest with ME 8 in tow. US 201A and ME 8 are cosigned for the remainder of their lengths.
US 201A and ME 8 continue along the riverbank, turning north into Madison and intersecting with ME 43 and ME 148. US 201A and ME 8 then turn west, joining the converging routes to cross the river as a four-route concurrency. On the west side of the bridge lies the town of Anson, where US 201A and ME 8 split to the north off ME 43 and ME 148, which continue west concurrently. The highway turns north along the west bank of the river into the village of North Anson, intersecting the eastern end of ME 234 before meeting ME 16 just to the north. ME 16 joins US 201A and ME 8, proceeding north along the river out of town, and eventually passing into Solon. Nearing the riverbank once more, ME 16 splits to continue north along the river, while US 201A and ME 8 turn northeast to cross the river. Both routes terminate at US 201.
See also[]
- Interstate 92 in Maine
- Interstate 95 in Maine
- Interstate 295 (Maine)
- U.S. Route 201A
- U.S. Route 1 in Maine
- U.S. Route 2 in Maine
- U.S. Route 103
- U.S. Route 202
- U.S. Route 302
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| US 1A • US 201 • US 301 • US 401 • US 501 • US 601 • US 701 • US 801 • US 901 |
| Special routes of U.S. Route 1 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US 301 • US 401 • US 501 • US 601 • US 701 | ||||||||||