Floodgap Roadgap: The Bangor Loop (US 1/US 1A)

Floodgap Roadgap presents the Bangor Loop (US 1/US 1A)

[Present-day US 1/1A routing through mid-coastal Maine.]

Maine's fascinating mid-coast region

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Sometimes the master becomes the pupil, and the primary route the alternate. On my recent trip to Maine (May 2005), my host took me around US 1 ALT in Bangor, the "old road" covering many miles of beautiful forested rivershore and picturesque towns living up to all those tourist brochures, once an original alignment of mighty US 1. Many thanks to my host and family, who put me up for a week and showed me endless local hospitality for which I am very greatly indebted. This expanded exhibit includes additional retakes and shots taken on my second trip in October 2005, and a rewritten legend from new data in December 2007.

Along the way, we will pass through downtown Bangor itself as well as Winterport, Stockton Springs, Bucksport, Ellsworth and Brewer. Plus, we will take a look at COASTAL US 1, an unusual designation for much of the highway's present-day coastal Maine alignment, with special focus on the Waldo-Hancock Bridge, a/k/a the Penobscot Narrows, a rustic steel suspension span over the Penobscot River slated for demolition as its steel cabling slowly corrodes. The Narrows is just one part of the rich history of the region and the original US 1 ALT in this region which is the Downeast mainline US 1 today; we'll take the grand overview in loop fashion, exiting Bangor to the southwest, ascending northeast into Ellsworth, and then northwest again back to our starting point.

Photography taken May and October 2005.

Sections

This photologue is divided into two parts, roughly half and half.

Part 1: Bangor to Stockton Springs
We start with a brief prologue descending from Corinth, Glenburn and points north into Bangor, and then the convoluted interplay of US 1 ALT and its corresponding business route through downtown Bangor as we exit the city west of the Penobscot River. This includes modern routes ME 15, I-95, ME 222, US 2, ME 100, US 202, BR 1 ALT (BR 1A), ME 9, US 1 ALT (US 1A), I-395, ME 69, ME 139, ME 174, COASTAL US 1 and ME 3.
Part 2: Stockton Springs to Bangor
We then continue northeasterly along COASTAL US 1 and cross the historic Waldo-Hancock Bridge/Penobscot Narrows over the Penobscot River into Bucksport, skirt many of the local towns, and reach Ellsworth and some of its scenic surroundings. We then cross the Union River and pick up the other half of US 1 ALT, proceeding northeast back towards Bangor through Brewer, with another look at BR 1 ALT and the remnants of Bangor's river crossings. This includes modern routes COASTAL US 1, ME 3, ME 15, ME 172, ME 230, US 1 ALT (US 1A), ME 179, ME 180, I-395, BR 1 ALT (BR 1A), ME 9, ME 15 and US 202.

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