Everett Turnpike

Everett Turnpike marker

Everett Turnpike
Central New Hampshire Turnpike

Map of southern New Hampshire with Everett Turnpike highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by NHDOT Bureau of Turnpikes
Length: 39.867 mi[1] (64.160 km)
Existed: c.1955 – present
Major junctions
South end: US 3 in Tyngsborough, MA
 

I293 / NH 101 in Bedford
I93 in Hooksett

I89 in Bow
North end: I93 / NH 9 in Concord
Location
Counties: Hillsborough, Merrimack
Highway system

The Frederick E. Everett Turnpike, also called the Central New Hampshire Turnpike, is a toll road in New Hampshire, USA, running 44 miles (71 km) from the Massachusetts border at Nashua north to Concord. The Everett Turnpike is named for Frederick Elwin Everett, the first Commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Transportation.[2]

The turnpike is part of the New Hampshire Turnpike System, and is operated by the New Hampshire Department of Transportation's Bureau of Turnpikes.

Route description

Much of the turnpike's length has been overlapped by other numbered routes. Portions of the road are shared with U.S. Route 3, Interstate 93, and Interstate 293. The southern portion of the turnpike, in Nashua, is posted as U.S. Route 3, serving as an extension of the US-3 freeway (Northwest Expressway) from Burlington, Massachusetts. North of Exit 7 in Nashua, the turnpike runs by itself and has no number, but parallels US-3, which is a toll-free local road variously known as Concord Street (within the city of Nashua) and the Daniel Webster Highway (within Merrimack and Bedford). Approaching Bedford in the Manchester area, the turnpike is joined by I-293 which splits off from a concurrency with NH Route 101. At Exit 4 (exits are numbered for I-293 on this stretch), NH Route 3A joins the freeway, and the concurrency passes through Manchester, near the downtown area of the city. Upon passing Manchester, Route 3A splits off at Exit 7, I-293's last northbound exit. The freeway passes into Hooksett, and I-293 ends at an interchange with I-93. The Everett Turnpike ceases to be signed at this interchange, but joins I-93 northbound and continues towards Concord, interchanging with the southern terminus of Interstate 89 along the way. No definitive northern terminus for the turnpike exists as far as signage is concerned. This endpoint was originally at a traffic circle next to downtown Concord that has since been replaced by Exit 14 with New Hampshire Route 9.

There are two mainline toll plazas on the turnpike, in Bedford and Hooksett. The Bedford mainline toll plaza, located between Exit 12 and I-293, replaced the Merrimack toll plaza (formerly located at what is now Exit 11) in the early 1990s. Ramp tolls also exist in Merrimack (at Exits 10 and 11) and Hooksett (the on/off-ramps to I-93 Exit 11/N.H. Route 3-A). E-ZPass readers were installed in all toll locations in 2005. A "Welcome Center" exists in Nashua (just off Exit 6), and major rest areas combined with state-run liquor stores are located on either side of the highway in Hooksett just north of the mainline toll plaza, which is located on I-93 at Exit 11. On July 18, 2014, the Exit 12 ramp tolls in Merrimack were removed.

The proposed (but mostly unbuilt) Circumferential Highway around the east side of Nashua is defined as part of the turnpike.[3] Henri A. Burque Highway, the surface road that U.S. Route 3 uses to get between exit 7 of the turnpike and the Daniel Webster Highway in northern Nashua, is also part of it.[1]

Signage issues

The northern end of I-293 as viewed from I-93 northbound. The Everett Turnpike joins I-93 North at this interchange, but signage does not indicate this.

Though the Turnpike continues north to Concord, it is not signed north of the I-293 merge in Hooksett. Traveling on I-93 North, the exit for I-293 is signed as I-293/Everett Turnpike South, while the mainline is signed solely as I-93 North (as a toll highway). Traveling on I-293 North, Everett Turnpike signage stops at the merge, with I-93 North signed by itself. No indications of the northern terminus exist on I-93 in either direction. The first reassurance of the Turnpike southbound is after exiting onto I-293. No indications of the Turnpike exist on any intersecting highways north of the merge, including Interstate 89.

Mileage posts on the Turnpike are only posted from the Massachusetts state line to the interchange with I-293 and Route 101. North of this interchange, only mileposts of the respective Interstate highways are posted.

In 2010, the signs were fixed.

History

Prior to the September 11, 2001 attacks, exit 4 in Nashua was signed as "East Dunstable Road / FAA Center." The "FAA Center" signage was removed at the request of the Federal Aviation Administration.

Exit list

CountyLocationmi[1]kmOld exit
[4][5][3][6][7]
New exitDestinationsNotes
HillsboroughNashua0.000.00 US 3 southContinuation into Massachusetts
0.500.801Spit Brook Road – South Nashua
1.492.402 To NH 3A / Daniel Webster Highway HudsonCircumferential Highway; signed as exit 1A from northbound collector–distributor lane
2.594.1713Daniel Webster Highway – South NashuaSouthbound exit and northbound entrance only; originally exit 1
3.185.124East Dunstable Road
4.697.5525 NH 111 to NH 111ASigned as exits 5E (east) and 5W (west); originally exit 2
5.138.265E-A5ASimon StreetNorthbound exit only, formerly signed as Exit 5E-A
6.2210.016 NH 130 (Broad Street) Hollis
6.7410.857 US 3 north / NH 101A – Nashua, Downtown, Amherst, MilfordNorthern terminus of US 3 concurrency; signed as exits 7E (east) and 7W (west)
7.6612.337W8 NH 101A west – Amherst, MilfordLocally known as Somerset Parkway
Exit 9 does not exist
Merrimack9.8315.8210 To US 3 / Industrial DriveToll barriers on northbound exit and southbound entrance ramps
11.1017.86811 To US 3 MerrimackToll barriers on northbound exit and southbound entrance ramps
14.9424.0412 To US 3 / Bedford RoadNorthbound exit and southbound entrance only. No longer tolled.
Bedford13 Manchester Airport Access RoadInterchange opened in 2011
Bedford toll plaza
19.3931.2110 I293 south / NH 101 to US 3 / NH 114 Portsmouth, Exeter, Bedford, MilfordSouthern terminus of I-293 concurrency; exit numbers follow I-293; originally exit 5
Manchester21.2234.1564 US 3 (Second Street, Queen City Avenue) / NH 3A south / NH 114A ManchesterSouthern terminus of NH 3 concurrency
21.9635.345Granite Street West Manchester
23.2737.4576Amoskeag Street, Goffstown RoadOriginally exit 7
24.2539.037 NH 3A north HooksettNorthbound exit and southbound entrance only; northern terminus of NH 3A concurrency
MerrimackHooksett27.1843.74 I93 south / I293 ends Salem, BostonNorthern terminus of I-293 concurrency, southern terminus of I-93 concurrency; exit numbers follow I-93
Hooksett toll plaza
29.5247.51811 To NH 3A – HooksettToll barrier between interchange and NH 3A; originally exit 8
Bow36.2458.32 I89 north Lebanon, White River Junction, VTOriginally exit 9
Concord36.9159.4012 NH 3A (S. Main Street) Bow JunctionSigned as exits 12N (north) and 12S (south)
38.0861.2813 US 3 (Manchester Street) – Downtown
39.2063.0914 NH 9 (Loudon Road) – State Offices
I93 north PlymouthEverett Turnpike ends; continuation past NH 9
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

References

Route map: Bing

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 GRANIT GIS data - NH Public Roads
  2. Brown, Janice A. (2006-08-23). "New Hampshire's Turnpike History". Cow Hampshire. BlogHarbor. Retrieved 2009-01-15.
  3. 3.0 3.1 New Hampshire Statutes Title XX Chapter 237
  4. 1968 Indiana Toll Road map (has exits 3-10 from Nashua to Milford, then present exits 11-13 from Hooksett to Concord)
  5. 1985 USGS topo
  6. 1985 USGS topo
  7. 1957 USGS Suncook quadrangle