Interstate 293

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Interstate 293
Auxiliary route of the Interstate Highway System

Length:

11.43 mi^[1] (18.39 km)

South end:

Interstate 93 in Manchester, NH

Major
junctions:

NH 28

Everett Turnpike

NH 101

US 3

North end:

Interstate 93 in Hooksett, NH

NH 286

US 302

Interstate 293 (abbreviated I-293) is an 11-mile long loop surrounding Manchester, New Hampshire, USA in the rough shape of two sides of a right triangle. Completing the loop in the northeast (the hypotenuse of the triangle) is Interstate 93. The southern portion of the loop shares the road with NH 101 and passes near Manchester Airport and the Mall of New Hampshire. The western portion of the loop shares the road with the Everett Turnpike but there are no tolls on this portion of the turnpike.

1 Route description
2 Exit list
3 History
4 References

[edit] Route description

Interstate 293 begins at a directional T interchange in the southeast of Manchester, where NH 101 West leaves I-93. (map) I-293 is signed as a north-south road, but along the section concurrent with NH 101, the road travels in an entirely westerly direction. Exits 1 and 2 provide access to the Mall of New Hampshire area and the Manchester Airport respectively. After crossing the Merrimack River, I-293 enters the modified cloverleaf exit 3 interchange where I-293, NH 101, and the Everett Turnpike intersect. At exit 3, NH 101 leaves I-293 and continues west as a four-lane freeway to its junction with NH 114. I-293 makes a nearly 90 degree turn here, joining the Everett Turnpike and traveling north along the west bank of the Merrimack. The I-293/Everett Turnpike concurrency heads in to downtown Manchester, and is joined by NH 3A at exit 4. Exits 5 and 6 intersect local roads near bridges across the Merrimack, allowing travelers access to both east and west sides of Manchester. At exit 7, NH 3A leaves the multiplex, while I-293 and the Turnpike continue north to the end of I-293 at another interchange with I-93, just south of the Hooksett barrier toll plaza. (map) From here I-93 and the Everett Turnpike are concurrent to the Turnpike's northern end in Concord.

[edit] Exit list

Municipality	Exit	Destination	Notes
Manchester		BEGIN 293	NH 101 West leaves I-93 South Ramps to/from I-93 North/NH 101 East and I-93 South
	1	NH 28 South Willow Street
	2	NH 3A Brown Ave.
Bedford	3	to NH 101 West to NH 114 / Everett Turnpike	Left-hand exit northbound I-293 South leaves Everett Turnpike via right-hand exit
Manchester	4	US 3 NH 3A NH 114A; Queen City Bridge
	5	Granite Street, West Manchester	Northbound exit only Southbound entrance only
	6	Amoskeag Bridge, Goffstown Road, West Manchester, Downtown
	7	NH 3A Front Street	Northbound exit only Southbound entrance only
Hooksett		END 293	Everett Turnpike North joins I-93 North Ramps to/from I-93/Everett Turnpike North and I-93 South

Currently, as of 2006, there is construction going on Exit 5. Once the construction is completed, users will be able to exit and enter Exit 5 both Southbound and Northbound.

[edit] History

Before the portion of the Everett Turnpike that completed the I-293 loop was accepted in to the Interstate Highway System, the east-west freeway between I-93 and the Turnpike was designated as Interstate 193 (I-193).^[2]

This image, from the General location of national system of interstate highways book published by the U.S. Bureau of Public Roads in 1955, also known as the Yellow Book, shows I-93's proposed route to have been west of where it was eventually built, more closely paralleling (or replacing) US 3 and very similar to the actual route of the Everett Turnpike. It also shows a spur which would have likely been designated I-193. This spur is further north than the I-193 that was eventually built, and was probably intended to link the proposed I-93 to downtown Manchester via the Queen City Bridge or a new river crossing in that area.