Commuting from Yarmouth to Lewiston/Auburn (Portland, South Portland: real estate, apartment, crime rate) - Maine (ME) - City-Data Forum

eastcoast3 · 03-07-2010, 05:45 PM

Hi,
We are relocating to Maine because of a new job. My husband will be working in the lewiston/auburn area. We really like the sound of the Yarmouth community. We want to be on the coast and have the small town feel, but with activities and things to do for the two of us and our 3 small children.
Could someone tell me how easy or difficult the commute would be to the Auburn/Lewiston area. Distance, time, roads..

Thanks!

cdodge04 · 03-08-2010, 01:29 AM

I do work in the southern part of the state, many days I travel from the coast up to the Auburn area...the roads aren't too bad. Theres a couple different ways to go..you can either hop on 95 in Gray and head up, take 115(I think it's 115) to 202 and into Lewiston/Auburn that way, or 136 up to Lewiston/Auburn. I usually end up doing 115 to 202 and up that way just because that is the most logical route for my work...

Travel time is 30-45 minutes depending on traffic, weather, etc. I think it's somewhere around 25-30 miles between the two...

Hopefully someone in that area might be able to fill in some of the info I missed and be a little bit more specific as to which route is best during the winter and other such pointers...

flycessna · 03-08-2010, 08:18 AM

I think Cdodge answered it well. 115/231 would be my choice. You can go 295 to 136 (lisbon st) into lewiston but I think there would be more traffic.. So maybe on snowy days take the bigger roads but the rest of year take the less travelled 231.

either way it will be about 30-45 minutes.

Yarmouth, I love the town. Id be there myself if I could.

Maineah · 03-08-2010, 09:50 AM

This time of year you should use route 231. It is in the best shape of all of them. There is no need to take RTE 115 out of Yarmouth to get to 231. Take North road out of Yarmouth. You'll cross route 9 and hit the JCT of 231 at the Mill Road in North Yarmouth. Take a right and continue on 231 past Pineland Farms and New Gloucester Village to the JCT of route 202, 100, and 4. Turn right here and you'll be in Auburn in 5 minutes from this turn. You will pass Roy's All Steak Hamburgers coming into Auburn this way. Do yourself a favor and stop to get a couple of loaded cheeseburgers at Roy's someday! You'll be hooked!
RTE 115 is pretty rough right now as is the river road (136) in Durham. This will change when RTE 136 in Freeport is repaired and widened this summer. The project is about 60% complete. This will make the river road in Freeport/ Durham (136) much more desireable (and faster) when the project is complete. Don't try it now though as it is a real mess!

flycessna · 03-08-2010, 01:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maineah

This time of year you should use route 231. It is in the best shape of all of them. There is no need to take RTE 115 out of Yarmouth to get to 231. Take North road out of Yarmouth. You'll cross route 9 and hit the JCT of 231 at the Mill Road in North Yarmouth. Take a right and continue on 231 past Pineland Farms and New Gloucester Village to the JCT of route 202, 100, and 4. Turn right here and you'll be in Auburn in 5 minutes from this turn. You will pass Roy's All Steak Hamburgers coming into Auburn this way. Do yourself a favor and stop to get a couple of loaded cheeseburgers at Roy's someday! You'll be hooked!
RTE 115 is pretty rough right now as is the river road (136) in Durham. This will change when RTE 136 in Freeport is repaired and widened this summer. The project is about 60% complete. This will make the river road in Freeport/ Durham (136) much more desireable (and faster) when the project is complete. Don't try it now though as it is a real mess!

IDK why I never noticed that the north road is much faster.. its a mile shorter

thanks!

what are they doing to 136 maineah?? is it just freeport?

Maineah · 03-08-2010, 02:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flycessna

IDK why I never noticed that the north road is much faster.. its a mile shorter

thanks!

what are they doing to 136 maineah?? is it just freeport?

From what I have seen the RTE 136 repair job is from Mallett Drive in Freeport to the Durham line at the Brown Road. They have removed hundreds of trees, replaced the poles, installed new drainage and are in the process of widening the road by quite a lot. The road was repaired several years ago on the Durham side and is in pretty good shape except for some places which were washed out along the river a year or so ago. Those sections still need to be repaired. When its' done it should be good all the way into Auburn.

MRVphotog · 03-10-2010, 11:57 PM

When I lived in Cumberland, the town next to Yarmouth, I commuted to L/A usually twice a week for two years as I was rehabbing an apartment building I bought up there. As others have said there are a couple of ways to go but with a proper vehicle, I had a 4wd pickup, it's a pretty pleasant drive. From Yarmouth you can go to North Yarmouth then Rt 9 north which avoids Freeport totally. When you hit Durham you can continue on Rt 9 via Lisbon Falls for Lewiston or Rt 136 which is better for Auburn. Since Yarmouth is right on I295, using that to Rt136 is probably good too, dispite the construction.

eastcoast3 · 03-11-2010, 09:10 PM

Hi,
My husband is being relocated to Maine from MA. We are seriously looking in Yarmouth, we want to be on the coast and close enough to travel to the Lewiston/Auburn area for work.

Any info on school system, housing market, community would be helpful. We are a middle class family with 3 young children. We esp. want activities for our children to do such as dance, karate, baseball/soccer.

Is Yarmouth a town that offers this?

eastcoast3 · 03-12-2010, 05:37 AM

Thanks everyone, very helpful information!!

Maineah · 03-12-2010, 10:14 AM

You would be hard pressed to find a better town in Maine to live in than Yarmouth.
Yarmouth has a reasonable tax base though Real Estate tends to be at a premium there. The schools are excellent, the town is clean, somewhat quaint, picturesque, and well laid out. Yarmouth is close to Portland, Lewiston/Auburn, Freeport (LL Bean) and Brunswick. It's only 20 minutes to the Maine Mall in South Portland from Yarmouth. There are three marinas in Yarmouth if boating is your thing (and it should be!).There are several good restaurants in the Yarmouth/Freeport area.
Casco Bay is a quick hop down the Royal River with the 365 "Calendar Islands" waiting to be explored.
Yarmouth has youth soccer leagues, and Little League Baseball. There are a number of baseball and soccer fields around the town. There is fishing in the Royal River and the bay. There is a small uncrowded beach on Cousin's Island. There are a number of bike and walking paths around the town.
There are convenient shopping areas on Route One covering all of the basic needs. The crime rate is practically zero. The police department and fire departments are very good. The town water IS the cleanest and best tasting in the state. Better than even Poland Spring! If I was not living on my wife's "family estate" here in Freeport I would certainly be living three miles away in Yarmouth! Am I a bit biased??? Yes, I grew up in Yarmouth!