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Speed Drops on Stretch of I-295 Monday Morning

Maine Public/file
I-295 in Portland, looking northbound, in 2011.

FALMOUTH, Maine - Starting Monday at midnight, the speed limit along a busy stretch of I-295, will be going down, three years after it was increased.

"We're going to be lowering the speed limit on I-295 from Falmouth to Topsham, from 70 back to 65 miles an hour." says Maine Department of Transportation Spokesman Ted Talbot.

Talbot says the decision was prompted by a sharp increase in the number of crashes since the speed limit was raised in 2014, plus the accompanying bottlenecks and delayed travel time which have plagued the route in recent years.

"Volume has certainly become an issue, it's raised over 12%" says Talbot.  According to department data, by 2015, the number of crashes along that stretch of highway was 29% higher than before the speed limit change in 2014.  

Talbot says existing issues surrounding volume and speed are being exacerbated by distracted driving.

 A more comprehensive, long term study on I-295 is currently underway by MDOT.