Code of Maine Rules › 17 - DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION › 229 - DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION - GENERAL › Chapter 304 - CRITERIA FOR FUNCTIONAL RECLASSIFICATION OF HIGHWAYS › Section 229-304-01 - THE ORIGINAL 1975 FUNCTIONAL CLASSIFICATION CRITERIA

Current through 2024-29, July 17, 2024
A. Rural
Rural principal arterial system
The rural principal arterial system consists of a connected
				  rural network of continuous routes having the following characteristics:
1. Serve corridor movements having trip
				length and travel density characteristics indicative of substantial statewide
				or interstate travel.
2. Serve all,
				or virtually all, urban areas in Maine.
3. Provide an integrated network without stub
				connections except where unusual geographic or traffic flow conditions dictate
				otherwise (e.g., international boundary connections and connections to coastal
				cities).
The principal arterial system is divided into the following
				  two categories:
Interstate System. The Interstate subclassification consists
				  of all presently designated routes of the interstate System.
Other principal arterials. This subclassification consists of
				  all non-Interstate principal arterials.
Rural minor arterial road system
The rural minor arterial road system should, in conjunction
				  with the principal arterial system, for a rural network having the following
				  characteristics:
1. Link cities and
				larger towns (and other traffic generators, such as major resort areas, that
				are capable of attracting travel over similarly long distances) and form an
				integrated network providing interstate and intercounty service.
2. Be spaced at such intervals, consistent
				with population density so that all developed areas of the State are within a
				reasonable distance of an arterial highway.
3. Provide (because of the two
				characteristics defined immediately above) service to corridors with trip
				lengths and travel density greater than those predominately served by rural
				collector or local systems.
Minor arterials therefore constitute routes whose design
				  should be expected to provide for relatively high overall travel speeds, with
				  minimum interference to through movement.
Rural collector road system
The rural collector routes generally serve travel of
				  primarily intracounty rather than statewide importance and constitute those
				  routes on which (regardless of traffic volume) predominant travel distances are
				  shorter than on arterial routes. Consequently, more moderate speeds may be
				  typical, on the average.
In order to define more clearly the characteristics of rural
				  collectors, this system is subclassified according to the following
				  criteria:
Major collector roads. These routes generally:
1. Provide service to any county seat not on
				an arterial route, to the large towns not directly served by the higher
				systems, and to other traffic generators of equivalent intracounty importance,
				such as consolidated schools, shipping points, county parks, important mining
				and agricultural areas, etc.;
2.
				Link these places with nearby larger towns or cities, or with routes of higher
				classification; and
3. Serve the
				more important intracounty travel corridors.
Minor collector roads. These routes are generally:
1. spaced at intervals, consistent with
				population density, to collect traffic from local roads and bring all developed
				areas within a reasonable distance of a collector road;
2. provide service to the remaining smaller
				communities; and
3. link the
				locally important traffic generators with their rural hinterland.
Rural local road system
The rural local road system should have the following
				  characteristics:
1. Serve primarily to
				provide access to adjacent land; and
2. provide service to travel over relatively
				short distances as compared to collectors or other systems.