U.S. Route 302 in New Hampshire

This article is about the section of U.S. Route 302 in New Hampshire. For the entire route, see U.S. Route 302.

U.S. Route 302 marker

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
 
East end: US 302 in Fryeburg, ME
Location
Counties: Grafton, Coos, Carroll
Highway system
I293I393

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 eastwest 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

CountyLocation[1][3]mi[1][3]kmDestinationsNotes
GraftonHaverhill0.0000.000 US 302 west (Railroad Street) to US 5 / I91 Wells RiverContinuation from Vermont
0.2240.360 NH 135 (Woodsville Road / South Court Street) MonroeVillage of Woodsville
1.2452.004 NH 10 south (Dartmouth College Highway) HanoverNorthern terminus of NH 10
Bath3.8126.135 NH 112 east (Wild Ammonoosuc Road) Swiftwater, North Woodstock, LincolnWestern terminus of NH 112
Lisbon12.96020.857 NH 117 east (Sugar Hill Road) Sugar Hill, FranconiaWestern terminus of NH 117
Littleton20.004–
20.152
32.193–
32.432
I93 (Styles Bridges Highway) Bethlehem, Concord, Dalton, St. Johnsbury VTExit 42 on I-93
21.00033.796 NH 18 north (West Main Street) to I93 north / NH 135 Dalton, MonroeWestern end of concurrency with NH 18
21.55634.691 NH 116 north (Union Street) WhitefieldWestern end of concurrency with NH 116
22.08835.547Cottage StreetTo I93 Woodsville, St. Johnsbury VT, Franconia, Bethlehem Exit 41
Bethlehem23.501–
23.850
37.821–
38.383
I93 (Styles Bridges Highway) Franconia, Plymouth, Littleton, St. Johnsbury VTExit 40 on I-93; no eastbound access to I-93 north; no westbound access from I-93 south
23.85738.394 NH 18 / NH 116 south (Profile Road) FranconiaEastern end of concurrency with NH 18 / NH 116
26.672–
26.701
42.924–
42.971
NH 142 (Agassiz Street / Maple Street) Franconia, Whitefield
CoosCarroll34.79655.999 US 3 (Daniel Webster Highway) Whitefield, Lancaster, PlymouthVillage of Twin Mountain
CarrollBartlett63.892102.824 NH 16 north (Pinkham Notch Road) Jackson, Gorham, BerlinWestern end of concurrency with NH 16; village of Glen
65.026104.649 NH 16A south IntervaleNorthern terminus of NH 16A
67.299108.307 NH 16A north (Intervale Resort Loop)Southern terminus of NH 16A
Conway71.981115.842 NH 16 south (White Mountain Highway) ConwayEastern end of concurrency with NH 16; village of North Conway
74.522119.932 NH 113 west (East Main Street) ConwayEastern terminus of NH 113
79.155127.388 US 302 east (Main Street) FryeburgContinuation into Maine
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

External links

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