(Bangor), US 1A/ME 9 and US 1A/202

All photos taken eastbound.


Heading toward Bangor along the Penobscot River, up to the ME 9 junction.


I don't like these shields, but I do like the idea that US 1A is signed east-west, because that's how it runs. However, it really should match its parent US 1 as a north-south route, especially because this was the original route of US 1.


US 1A picked up ME 9 awhile ago, but here it gets US 202 as well. US 202 EB just looped off of I-395 EB in time to get an exit back to the WB side. But the way the sign reads, it seems that the exit is back to US 202 North. North, as in the cardinal direction, is straight ahead into Bangor.


US 1A carries ME 9 away from the heart of Bangor, crossing the Penobscot River into Brewer.


Everything that is wrong with modern shields. The Business is too large, the state name is too small, and the I-395 shield was excreted by a dying Amazonian toad who just ate the wrong kind of mushroom. These should be tossed in the rubbish and the standards of yore, the ones that produced consistent quality that met specifications, should be enforced once again.


I'm on the warpath now, so that first assembly is no good. It's admittedly meant to be small, but it's too small to be of use. The US 1A shield is too pointy, and it should have the TO US 1 next to it. I guess MaineDOT got rid of that because the word COASTAL wouldn't fit, and heaven help anyone who dares think US 1 is anything other than Coastal 1. The sign on the right is no good either, both for the narrow I-395 shield and the failure to put "Only" in all capital letters with a down arrow.


No one's really sure what this place is, or what the logo is from/for. Clearly, it's worth checking out, though I worry about meeting the owner without wearing body armor.


Finally, well east of Bangor, the LeHay font comes out to play. I don't normally like one-piece assemblies (like the ME 69/139 above), but old wooden ones will always get a pass.

Chipmunk shield where US 1A ends in Ellsworth.

Onto ME 9 alone
Onto US 202 alone

To I-95
Onto I-395
Onto ME 15
To US 2
Onto parent US 1
Onto ME 3
Back to Maine Roads
Back to Roads