, approximately two miles from the western terminus
Vermont US 302 begins as River Street in the southeastern part of
Montpelier, the state capital, at a junction with US 2. It heads southeastward up the valley of the Stevens Branch of the
Winooski River, passing through the northeastern corner of the town of
Berlin and entering
Barre, where it becomes North Main Street. In the center of Barre, US 302 becomes Washington Street at the junction with
Vermont Route 14 south, and continues southeastward up the valley of the
Jail Branch River. In
East Barre, US 302 has an intersection with
Vermont Route 110 at a
roundabout. US 302 climbs into the hills of eastern Vermont, passing through the rural town of
Orange, where it crosses a height of land and crosses the valley of the
Waits River, a tributary of the
Connecticut River. The highway turns northeastward, passing through a corner of
Topsham, crosses another height of land, and enters the valley of the
Wells River in the rural town of
Groton. The highway turns southeastward again, following the Wells River and passing through the village of
South Ryegate, before intersecting
Interstate 91 in the northern part of the town of
Newbury. US 302 continues east and enters the village of
Wells River, where it crosses US 5 and reaches the Connecticut River and the New Hampshire border. US 302 is named the William Scott Memorial Highway and was part of the
Theodore Roosevelt International Highway in Vermont.
New Hampshire in the
White Mountains of New Hampshire US 302 enters the state of New Hampshire at a two-lane arch bridge over the Connecticut River beginning in
Wells River, Vermont. It follows Central Street on a two-lane alignment, passing through
Woodsville until it reaches
NH 10 (Dartmouth College Highway), where it turns eastward. US 302 follows the
Ammonoosuc River through a mix of fields and forested land, passing through
Bath as Lisbon Road and
Lisbon as its Main Street. As it approaches
Littleton, the road's name changes to Meadow Street and becomes a shopping strip just before crossing the river and interchanging with
I-93. After a short stretch, the road meets Main Street (
NH18) at a skewed intersection, defaulting onto Main Street and passing through the town's downtown. The route intersects
NH 116 and turns southward onto Cottage Street, immediately bridging the Ammonoosuc River once again, and passes through a residential area before turning eastward onto Bethlehem Road. The route passes under Interstate 93 again and passes through woodland, where it crosses I-93 for a third time at a second interchange, where NH 18 and NH 116 also depart to the south. US 302 then travels eastward through largely forested land, passing through
Bethlehem and
Twin Mountain (where it crosses
U.S. Route 3), then turns southward as it passes through
Crawford Notch State Park, bearing
Crawford Notch Road as its name and paralleling the
Saco River. After turning eastward again, passing through
Bartlett and intersecting
NH 16, the road becomes White Mountain Highway and turns southward once more, passing Lower Bartlett and entering
North Conway. The route follows Eastman Road south of North Conway, which it follows to its end at
NH 113 (Main Street) after bridging the Saco River once again. US 302 turns east, passing through more forested land as it crosses the
Maine state border, bound for
Fryeburg a short stretch east of there.
Maine US 302 is known as the Roosevelt Trail through southern Maine because it was the beginning of the
Theodore Roosevelt International Highway to
Portland, Oregon. It is a two-lane highway for almost all of its length, but there are multi-lane sections within the
Portland area, as well as short four-lane sections in and around
North Windham in commercial areas. Some of the hilly sections also feature a third passing lane. The highway enters Maine at
Fryeburg, in the
Saco River valley as it leaves the
White Mountains. The road bridges the Saco near milepost 56 in eastern Fryeburg, Moose Pond near milepost 46 in
Bridgton,
Long Lake near milepost 31 in
Naples, and the
Crooked River in
Casco near a boyhood home of
Nathaniel Hawthorne. The highway passes the north end of Jordan Bay on
Sebago Lake in the town of
Raymond, and crosses the
Pleasant River at milepost 13.4 in
Windham. US 302 bridges the
Presumpscot River from
Westbrook into Portland at Riverton, then (via
Forest Avenue) reaches its eastern terminus at
I-295/
US 1 at the south end of
Back Cove via Forest Avenue. ==History==