U.S. Route 302 in New Hampshire

U.S. Route 302 (US 302) crosses the northern part of New Hampshire, entering the state by bridging the Connecticut River from Wells River, Vermont, following the Ammonoosuc River into the White Mountains, passing through Crawford Notch and following the Saco River out of the mountains to Fryeburg, Maine. US 302 serves as one of the few major highways that runs east–west in northern New England.

U.S. Route 302 is a spur of U.S. Route 2, but does not intersect its parent highway in New Hampshire.

Route description

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 and forms an overlap.

US 302 and NH 10 follow 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 at a skewed intersection, defaulting onto Main Street and passing through the town's development.

The route 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 it also intersects NH 116. 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 onto NH 113, passing through more forested land as it crosses the Maine state border, bound for Fryeburg a short stretch east of there.

History

Between 1922 and 1935, most of the current routing of US 302 from Portland, Maine west to its intersection with New Hampshire Route 18 in Littleton was designated as New England Interstate Route 18. The New England route designation was later removed and supplanted by the US 302 designation east of Littleton. West of Littleton, NH/VT Route 18 carried the designation north to US 2, which carried the designation west to Montpelier, Vermont.

US 302 today takes a more southerly path than the original Route 18. West of Littleton, it runs along parts of former New England Interstate Routes 10 and 25.

Junction list

References