Interstate 95 - Blue Star Turnpike

Interstate 95 traverses the New Hampshire seacoast for 16.11 miles between Seabrook and Portsmouth. All of I-95 in the Granite State doubles as the Blue Star (New Hampshire) Turnpike, a toll road linking Massachusetts and Maine. Tolls are collected at the Hampton Main Toll Plaza, on the freeway mainline at Exit 2, and the Hampton Side Toll Plaza along the ramps linking I-95 with the New Hampshire 101 freeway. The Main Toll Plaza includes four open road tolling (ORT) lanes added in June 2010 and 12 cash lanes¹.

Built between 1948 and June 24, 1950, the New Hampshire Turnpike opened between the Massachusetts state line at Seabrook and Portsmouth Circle with U.S. 1 Bypass. The northward connection to Maine utilized U.S. 1 Bypass north to the Maine-New Hampshire Bridge, a lift span across the Piscataqua River.²

Built with four overall lanes, the New Hampshire Turnpike received the designation Interstate 95 by 1960. Increases in traffic in the ensuing years led to expansion of the toll road to eight overall lanes starting in 1971. This work coincided with construction of a new fixed span over the Piscataqua River to directly link Interstate 95 with an extension of the Maine Turnpike south from Kittery. The new Piscataqua Bridge opened in 1972 and overall widening was complete by 1976.²

Interstate 95 New Hampshire Guides

• North
• South

Connect with:
Route 101
U.S. 4
Route 16

Page Updated 01-29-2015.