The Interstate 395/Route 9 connector will be open to traffic Friday after years of construction.
The 6-mile stretch of road has been in planning for more than two decades and under construction since 2017.
The connector debuted with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday, where speakers from the Maine Department of Transportation and the construction company that built the road spoke about the work that made the connector happen and how it will help surrounding communities.
The connector was planned to divert truck traffic away from Route 46 and 1A by connecting I-395 and Route 9. The path will allow trucks to move more easily from Canada to the highway system.
Multiple speakers said the connector will make the Brewer, Holden and Eddington communities quieter because of the decrease in truck traffic. Some residents are upset that the connector runs through their property, disrupting their serene areas.
The road was a much needed addition to the state because without it, truckers were forced to travel down windier and more residential roads, Bruce Van Note, Maine DOT commissioner, said.
“This little 6-mile section has been a missing link from a system perspective,” Van Note said.
The project was finished before its fall 2025 completion date. Van Note said he worries about some projects coming in on time, but didn’t think twice about the connector being late.
“When we do hundreds of projects a year and sign hundreds of bid awards a year, there’s ones that you sign and go, ‘I wonder how that’s going to go.’ And then there’s this one here,” Van Note said.
The company who won the bid, Sargent Corporation, is headquartered in Maine and has many Maine-based workers, something Van Note said helped him feel at ease about the project.
Sargent President Eric Ritchie said that the job not only supported his Maine workers, but will continue to help the state be better connected by shortening travel times and making places more accessible.
“A connector like this keeps Maine people in Maine,” he said.