New Hampshire

[SectorZ]

Where the heck was everyone going this weekend that caused I-95 to be congested approaching the Hampton toll plaza?  I took a trip from south of Boston up to Ossipee this weekend and on Saturday around 10:30 AM, I-95 north was moving rather slowly and even more surprising, the left 2 lanes (which become EZPass only) were moving slower than the right 2 lanes, which go into actual toll booths.

Then yesterday around 2 PM, the same slowdowns, but going south.

This despite I-95 being 4 lanes and mostly straight between the MA state line and Portsmouth!

The pro move is to not waste your time with the high-speed EZPass only lanes when it's busy like that.

And Rothman provided the answer as to the why.

[Ted$8roadFan]

The I_95 Piscataqua River Bridge between New Hampshire and Maine has been closed in both directions.

https://www.wmur.com/article/i-95-bridge-in-portsmouth-piscataqua-river-bridge-closed-in-both-directions/62002573

[shadyjay]

When I first saw this post, I thought it was an issue with the bridge.  But the bridge is fine and was reopened by 9:40am.

[Ted$8roadFan]

Given all of the bridge issues  with major regional impact we've had this year - i.e. the Key Bridge collapse in MD and the hot mess that is the Washington Bridge in RI - "bridge incident" hits different now. 

[noelbotevera]

If you look very closely, something was pried off of these signs for Exit 4 of the Everett Turnpike/US 3. The same is true for the sign at the exit (you can see bolt holes in both signs).

I'm not sure what this text was. It's not Rivier University because there's a sign next to the gantry mentioning the uni. There's also a lot of bolt holes, so a street name like "Main St" is too short (and "Daniel Webster Hwy" is too long).

[SectorZ]

If you look very closely, something was pried off of these signs for Exit 4 of the Everett Turnpike/US 3. The same is true for the sign at the exit (you can see bolt holes in both signs).

I'm not sure what this text was. It's not Rivier University because there's a sign next to the gantry mentioning the uni. There's also a lot of bolt holes, so a street name like "Main St" is too short (and "Daniel Webster Hwy" is too long).

"FAA Center". The FAA Boston Air Route Traffic Control Center is off the exit. They were noted on there for weeks if that long.

[Great Lakes Roads]

Where the heck was everyone going this weekend that caused I-95 to be congested approaching the Hampton toll plaza?  I took a trip from south of Boston up to Ossipee this weekend and on Saturday around 10:30 AM, I-95 north was moving rather slowly and even more surprising, the left 2 lanes (which become EZPass only) were moving slower than the right 2 lanes, which go into actual toll booths.

Then yesterday around 2 PM, the same slowdowns, but going south.

This despite I-95 being 4 lanes and mostly straight between the MA state line and Portsmouth!

The pro move is to not waste your time with the high-speed EZPass only lanes when it's busy like that.

And Rothman provided the answer as to the why.

https://www.wmur.com/article/nhdot-close-open-road-toll-lanes-i-95-hampton/62548333

ORT lanes on I-95 in Hampton to be closed for three months starting on October 15th...
Reason: upgrading the tolling equipment, which are 15 years old now (installed in 2010)!

[vdeane]

ORT lanes on I-95 in Hampton to be closed for three months starting on October 15th...
Reason: upgrading the tolling equipment, which are 15 years old now (installed in 2010)!

Ugh.  That's going to suck for anyone traveling during that time.  Aren't they switching to AET?  Seems like a waste of money (and motorist time) to invest in new tolling equipment for a setup that's going away.  Should just use this as an opportunity to convert it.

[Great Lakes Roads]

ORT lanes on I-95 in Hampton to be closed for three months starting on October 15th...
Reason: upgrading the tolling equipment, which are 15 years old now (installed in 2010)!

Ugh.  That's going to suck for anyone traveling during that time.  Aren't they switching to AET?  Seems like a waste of money (and motorist time) to invest in new tolling equipment for a setup that's going away.  Should just use this as an opportunity to convert it.

Doesn't look like an AET conversion to me...

[vdeane]

ORT lanes on I-95 in Hampton to be closed for three months starting on October 15th...
Reason: upgrading the tolling equipment, which are 15 years old now (installed in 2010)!

Ugh.  That's going to suck for anyone traveling during that time.  Aren't they switching to AET?  Seems like a waste of money (and motorist time) to invest in new tolling equipment for a setup that's going away.  Should just use this as an opportunity to convert it.

Doesn't look like an AET conversion to me...

I was talking about overall.  My point was that doing a non-AET upgrade here is a waste of money given NH's stated intention of converting all the tolls to AET.

[noelbotevera]

If you look very closely, something was pried off of these signs for Exit 4 of the Everett Turnpike/US 3. The same is true for the sign at the exit (you can see bolt holes in both signs).

I'm not sure what this text was. It's not Rivier University because there's a sign next to the gantry mentioning the uni. There's also a lot of bolt holes, so a street name like "Main St" is too short (and "Daniel Webster Hwy" is too long).

"FAA Center". The FAA Boston Air Route Traffic Control Center is off the exit. They were noted on there for weeks if that long.

That's odd. They haven't moved, closed down, or renamed themselves (the usual culprits for removing signage info). It is kind of a weird destination and not one that the general public might be interested in.

[Great Lakes Roads]

Statewide 40915 Remove Project - Tier 1 Roadways, Exit sign renumbering (Interstates and divided highways)

Let's see if the next governor of New Hampshire will approve the exit renumbering on the Tier 1 roadways...

[Great Lakes Roads]

ORT lanes on I-95 in Hampton to be closed for three months starting on October 15th...
Reason: upgrading the tolling equipment, which are 15 years old now (installed in 2010)!

Ugh.  That's going to suck for anyone traveling during that time.  Aren't they switching to AET?  Seems like a waste of money (and motorist time) to invest in new tolling equipment for a setup that's going away.  Should just use this as an opportunity to convert it.

Doesn't look like an AET conversion to me...

I was talking about overall.  My point was that doing a non-AET upgrade here is a waste of money given NH's stated intention of converting all the tolls to AET.

On the latest NHDOT's 10-Year plan from 2025-2034 is this:

HAMPTON-NORTH HAMPTON (44879)

Route/Road I-95/ROUTE101
Category INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS
Scope AET FESIBILITY STUDY AT HAMPTON INTERCHANGE (I-95/101).     
Strategy TIER 1

Phase                  Year Funding    Program
Preliminary Engineering 2028 1,000,000  TPK*
Preliminary Engineering 2029 1,000,000  TPK*

Total $2,000,000

[hotdogPi]

Found this in Fitzwilliam. It's not on alpsroads.net. That said, it's in much better condition than the most recent (2018) Google Street View shows, so the town must know about it.

The back two sides are identical except for the direction of the arrows.

[Vaulter]

Work on I-89 and I-93 near Bow and Concord is scheduled to start in 2029

[The Ghostbuster]

Now that Kelly Ayotte (R) is governor-elect of New Hampshire, I wonder if she will allow the conversion to mileage-based exits numbers to move forward? Or will she be another "Governor Sequential" like Chris Sununu has been?

[Great Lakes Roads]

Now that Kelly Ayotte (R) is governor-elect of New Hampshire, I wonder if she will allow the conversion to mileage-based exits numbers to move forward? Or will she be another "Governor Sequential" like Chris Sununu has been?

We'll have to wait and see...

[SectorZ]

Now that Kelly Ayotte (R) is governor-elect of New Hampshire, I wonder if she will allow the conversion to mileage-based exits numbers to move forward? Or will she be another "Governor Sequential" like Chris Sununu has been?

Maybe she will see the irony in building "Exit 4A" on 93 and realize why we don't do sequential. I've not heard her claim affinity to exit numbers but she was born in Nashua so she may have a special one on US 3 we don't know about.

Given she was in the Senate 2011-2017, I tried finding anything vote-wise that could pin down a possible opinion based on her votes, but Google was really not making that an easy find for me.

[vdeane]

I've not heard her claim affinity to exit numbers but she was born in Nashua so she may have a special one on US 3 we don't know about.

Depending on how serious NHDOT is about converting once free of the exit 3 kid, this might not be a showstopper.  Looking at the Everett, strict mile-based exits would be as follows:
1->1A
2->1B
3->2
4->3
5E/W->4A/B
5A->5
6->No change
7E/W->7A/B
8->7C or 8
10->9 or 10
11->No change
12->15
13->17
I-293/NH 101->19A/B

There's a strong case for pulling a MassDOT and leaving exits 1-11 unchanged other than changing E/W to A/B (and 5A to 5C as a result).

[fwydriver405]

Depending on how serious NHDOT is about converting once free of the exit 3 kid, this might not be a showstopper.  Looking at the Everett, strict mile-based exits would be as follows:
1->1A
2->1B
There's a strong case for pulling a MassDOT and leaving exits 1-11 unchanged other than changing E/W to A/B (and 5A to 5C as a result).

Would/could the existing "Exit 1A", the one that's off the Northbound C/D road from the DW Highway and Spit Brook Rd onramps and connects to the mainline Exit 2, be renumbered as "Exit 1 B" or just have it's number removed entirely under mileposted exits?

There's a strong case for pulling a MassDOT and leaving exits 1-11 unchanged other than changing E/W to A/B (and 5A to 5C as a result).

MaineDOT also did the same thing with I-295 on the first ten exits starting at Bucknam Rd and south (the existing I-295 prior to the switchover) when they installed milepost exits and extended I-295 from the Falmouth Spur - West Gardiner terminus.

3. Call them sequential. These sections were not renumbered in the switch to milepost based in 2004. 195 & 395 are probably "close enough", though I don't know how the actual mileposts shake out & can't be arsed to look ATM. On "classic" I-295 thru Portland, exit numbers are off by about 1. Milepost 6 is in the gore of Exit 7.

[vdeane]

Would/could the existing "Exit 1A", the one that's off the Northbound C/D road from the DW Highway and Spit Brook Rd onramps and connects to the mainline Exit 2, be renumbered as "Exit 1 B" or just have it's number removed entirely under mileposted exits?

Egads, they have two numbers for the same exit!  Yeah, I'd change that; 1B if going strict, 2 if not.  Why did they number that differently?

[fwydriver405]

Would/could the existing "Exit 1A", the one that's off the Northbound C/D road from the DW Highway and Spit Brook Rd onramps and connects to the mainline Exit 2, be renumbered as "Exit 1 B" or just have it's number removed entirely under mileposted exits?

Egads, they have two numbers for the same exit!  Yeah, I'd change that; 1B if going strict, 2 if not.  Why did they number that differently?

I'm not entirely sure, under the current sequential system, I'm probably guessing it was numbered based on the exit the C/D road was based on previously, in the NB 1A example to Exit 2 (NB mainline), the NB C/D road served Exit 1: Spit Brook Rd, so maybe it's a continuation of that.

Further northbound, Exit 5A (old Exit 5E-A): Simon St off ramp follows something similar - the NB C/D road previously served Exits 5E-W: NH Route 111.

[Great Lakes Roads]

https://www.wmur.com/article/bedford-toll-booths-to-be-replaced-by-e-zpass/62900631

Cashless tolling is coming to the Bedford Toll Plaza.

$16 million contract just awarded with a completion date of 2027!

[Ted$8roadFan]

I may have missed it, but will Bedford be getting high speed EZPass?

[MASTERNC]

https://www.wmur.com/article/bedford-toll-booths-to-be-replaced-by-e-zpass/62900631

Cashless tolling is coming to the Bedford Toll Plaza.

$16 million contract just awarded with a completion date of 2027!

Hopefully they don't take that opportunity to add a ramp gantry for those heading into the airport from the south (or vice versa).