U.S. Route 302 in New Hampshire

U.S. Route 302
Map of northern New Hampshire with US 302 highlighted in red
Route information
Auxiliary route of US 2
Maintained by NHDOT
Length:	79.155 mi[1] (127.388 km)
Existed:	1935[2] – present
Major junctions
West end:	US 302 in Wells River, VT
	I‑93 in Littleton NH 18 / NH 116 in Littleton US 3 in Twin Mountain NH 16 in Bartlett / North Conway
East end:	US 302 in Fryeburg, ME
Location
Counties:	Grafton, Coos, Carroll
Highway system
United States Numbered Highways List Bannered Divided Replaced New Hampshire Highway System Interstate U.S. State Turnpikes ← I‑293 I‑393 →

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.

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 also NH 18 and NH 116 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.

History

New England Interstate Route 18 shield. Much of its former routing is part of U.S. Route 302.

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.

Major intersections

County	Location[1][3]	mi[1][3]	km	Destinations	Notes
Grafton	Haverhill	0.000	0.000	US 302 west (Railroad Street) to US 5 / I‑91 – Wells River	Continuation from Vermont
		0.224	0.360	NH 135 (Woodsville Road / South Court Street) – Monroe	Village of Woodsville
		1.245	2.004	NH 10 south (Dartmouth College Highway) – Hanover	Northern terminus of NH 10
	Bath	3.812	6.135	NH 112 east (Wild Ammonoosuc Road) – Swiftwater, North Woodstock, Lincoln	Western terminus of NH 112
	Lisbon	12.960	20.857	NH 117 east (Sugar Hill Road) – Sugar Hill, Franconia	Western terminus of NH 117
	Littleton	20.104	32.354	I‑93 (Styles Bridges Highway) – Bethlehem, Concord, Dalton, St. Johnsbury VT	Exit 42 on I-93
		21.000	33.796	NH 18 north (West Main Street) to I‑93 north / NH 135 – Dalton, Monroe	Western end of concurrency with NH 18
		21.556	34.691	NH 116 north (Union Street) – Whitefield	Western end of concurrency with NH 116
		22.088	35.547	Cottage Street	To I‑93 – Woodsville, St. Johnsbury VT, Franconia, Bethlehem Exit 41
	Bethlehem	23.501	37.821	I‑93 (Styles Bridges Highway) – Franconia, Plymouth, Littleton, St. Johnsbury VT NH 18 south / NH 116 (Profile Road) – Franconia	Exit 40 on I-93; Eastern end of concurrency with NH 18/ NH 116
		26.672– 26.701	42.924– 42.971	NH 142 (Agassiz Street / Maple Street) – Franconia, Whitefield
Coos	Carroll	34.796	55.999	US 3 (Daniel Webster Highway) – Whitefield, Lancaster, Plymouth	Village of Twin Mountain
Carroll	Bartlett	63.892	102.824	NH 16 north (Pinkham Notch Road) – Jackson, Gorham, Berlin	Western end of concurrency with NH 16; village of Glen
		65.026	104.649	NH 16A south – Intervale	Northern terminus of NH 16A
		67.333	108.362	NH 16A north – Intervale	Southern terminus of NH 16A
	Conway	71.981	115.842	NH 16 south (White Mountain Highway) – Conway	Eastern end of concurrency with NH 16; village of North Conway
		74.522	119.932	NH 113 west (East Main Street) – Conway	Eastern terminus of NH 113
		79.155	127.388	US 302 east (Main Street) – Fryeburg	Continuation into Maine
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus

References

External links