Interstate 195 (I-195), also known as the Saco Industrial Spur, is a short auxiliary Interstate Highway running in eastern York County, Maine. The highway, located entirely in the city of Saco, is a nominally east–west route that provides access to downtown Saco and the resort town of Old Orchard Beach from I-95 (Maine Turnpike). The western terminus of I-195 is at a trumpet interchange with the Maine Turnpike in central Saco. The route has numbered interchanges with Industrial Park Road, US Route 1 (US 1), and State Route 5 (SR 5) before terminating at an at-grade intersection with SR 5 near the border between Saco and Old Orchard Beach.
The western terminus with I-95 has the remnants of an abandoned clover ramp, and the eastbound I-195 bridge is wide enough for two lanes and a shoulder but only has one lane. These hinted at a possible future extension westward but is less probable with the recent construction of a subdivision due west of the interchange.
Route description
I-195 begins at a trumpet interchange with I-95 (Maine Turnpike) in Saco, a city in York County; the freeway is accessible from I-95 via exit 36. After the interchange with I-95, I-195 begins to head in a southeastern direction. The freeway passes over an industrial branch of CSX Transportation just before a tollbooth for the entrance to the Maine Turnpike. After the toll barrier, I-195 enters the Saco Industrial Park and interchanges with Industrial Park Road, a local road that is used to access SR 112. The junction, signed as exit 1, is a partial cloverleaf interchange.
History
The origins of I-195 date back to the 1950s, when a freeway in Saco was planned as one of the state's original Interstate Highways, along with I-95 and I-295. Construction, however, was delayed for nearly three decades as the state finished construction projects on I-95, I-295, and the originally unsigned portion of the Maine Turnpike. In 1980, construction on I-195 began; the freeway was reenvisioned as a link to the Saco Industrial Park and the resort town of Old Orchard Beach and was named the Saco Industrial Spur.
An estimated daily average of over 20,000 motorists utilized I-195 in 2005.