Interstate 295 branches off from exit 44 of Interstate 95 providing access to downtown Portland, Maine, and then generally follows the Atlantic coast and Kennebec River until it merges back into I-95 in West Gardiner to the north at exit 103. After splitting from I-95, I-295 has a toll plaza just before its own exit 1. I-295's first exit is in South Portland, giving access to the Maine Mall and South Portland and Scarborough. At exit 4, US 1 joins I-295, and the two highways run concurrently for the next. After crossing the Fore River, the highway passes through Downtown Portland, which can be accessed via exits 4 through 8. North of the downtown area, I-295 crosses the Tukey's Bridge over the Back Cove, after which US 1 departs at exit 9. Running parallel with US 1, I-295 meets the eastern terminus of Falmouth Spur at exit 11 in the town of Falmouth, with a southbound exit and northbound entrance. After passing through Yarmouth and Freeport, exit 28 provides access to the town of Brunswick, where US 1 turns east away from I-295. Continuing north, the highway's last exit is exit 51, which gives access to Gardiner. After a toll plaza, I-295 merges back with I-95, which heads north towards Augusta. As an Interstate Highway, all of I-295 is included in the National Highway System, a network of roads important to the country's economy, defense, and mobility.
History
1960 to 2004
1960. Tukey's Bridge completed, named for Lemuel Tukey, a tavern owner and toll collector for the Back Cove Bridge in the late 18th Century.
1961. Falmouth Spur of the Maine Turnpike to Yarmouth opens
1971. Additional urban sections open through Portland
1974. From the Maine Turnpike in Scarborough to South Portland opens
1977. From Topsham to Gardiner opens.
2004. The length from Scarborough to Gardiner becomes entirely I-295 and the Maine Turnpike from Portland to Augusta becomes I-95.
2004 extension
In 2004, to clear up confusion, I-95 was re-designated to continue along the Maine Turnpike for its entire length. I-295 was extended past the Falmouth Spur as a redesignation of I-95, to where it merges back into the Turnpike in West Gardiner to the north. The long Falmouth Spur officially became I-495 but was left unsigned. At the same time, the exits were re-numbered; previously they had been numbered more or less sequentially from south to north—there were skipped numbers, for example, there was no Exit 23. After the changes the exits re-numbered to mile-log in relation to the Scarborough junction, except for the exits in Portland and South Portland, which remained the same. Exits on Maine's I-95 were similarly re-numbered based on mileage.
Speed limits
The speed limit on Interstate 295 on the section past Tukey's Bridge to mile 51 in Gardiner was raised from on May 27, 2014. This occurred as the result of a new law passed in 2013 by the Maine Legislature allowing the Maine Department of Transportation to set speed limits on Interstate highways with the approval of the Maine State Police, instead of appealing to the Legislature. The speed limit was reverted from for a length of from the section past Tukey's Bridge to Topsham on March 27, 2017.
Naming
In 2015, the Maine Legislature unanimously voted to name the highway's entire length for Richard A. Coleman, a Maine Department of Transportation employee since 1956, who has been involved with many Maine transportation projects. He was involved in projects ranging from Maine's interstates to the Penobscot Narrows Bridge and Observatory. Coleman declined comment on the naming, only telling the Kennebec Journal that while the naming is humbling, he found it uncomfortable. Maine Sen. Roger Katz, the sponsor of the bill, said "Very few people have heard of Dick Coleman, but as he drives around the state, he must feel a great deal of pride looking at his decades of work."
Emergency routes
In 2019, MaineDOT began signing emergency routes along roads near I-295. The routes generally lead from one exit to the next exit and are meant to be used when sections of the highway must be closed due to an accident or other disruption. In such an event, electronic signs will be activated and flaggers deployed to direct drivers to use the appropriate emergency route to lead them around the closure and maintain traffic flow. Northbound routes are designated with a single letter, while southbound routes are designated with double letters. This system was first used when a section of highway was closed due to the death of a Maine State Trooper in an accident.
