July 11, 2005

• TRAFFIC

  I see our part of Maine just made the NTSB or AAA list of "worst places to try to drive" or something like that.
  Maine has unique traffic problems. They have a 6-lane turnpike (an EXPENSIVE Turnpike) that basically goes from Portsmouth NH to the State Capitol at Augusta, and I-95 which is partly turnpike but goes on through Portland to Houghton. These are places you probably never heard of, but a place you probably have heard of is Bar Harbor, which is located on Mt. Desert Island, has Maine's only National Park, and is accessible only by two-lane roads running from Bangor to Ellsworth (US 1A) or up the coast from Rockland (US 1) which both funnel into ME Route 3, all of which are two-lane roads and currently under construction. They are always under construction. If you enjoy junky roadside scenery, that's your road.
  The problem is compounded by Maine's extreme winter weather, they can only fix the roads during the tourist season and since approximately half of ME is (very carefully cultivated) woods and pays minimal taxes, the road repair budget is always strapped. Some Maine towns have built alternative routes around the center of the town but Ellsworth has resisted. You can imagine the scene when a manufactured home or wood truck tries to make the right angle turn from Main Street (US 1) to High Street (US 1 & US 1A & Rt 3 - the road to Bar Harbor and on up the coast).
  The locals know how to avoid much of this and it's used to be a problem just when the "summer complaint" was here but I suspect it lasts for most of the year now. I suppose it will be a problem for the rest of my lifetime.

  • 10:08 am
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