Interstate 293 North

North West

Reassurance markers for Interstate 293 north / NH 101 west are posted on ramps from I-93 at their directional T interchange. New Hampshire DOT uses green box signs in lieu of stand alone shields for reassurance markers on overlapped routes. 06/27/05

The left side ramp from I-93 north to I-293 north must cause some confusion for motorists, as a trailblazer directs drivers westward to Exit 1 for a return to Interstate 93. 06/27/05

Similar to signing practices in Iowa, markers posted along freeway to freeway ramps in New Hampshire include reassurance shields. Pictured here is the ramp from I-93 south bringing NH 101 west onto I-293 north. 06/27/05

Ramps from I-93 combine ahead of the diamond interchange (Exit 1) with NH 28 (Willow Street). Following Willow Street, NH 28 comprises a busy commercial corridor through south Manchester peppered with big box retail and the Mall of New Hampshire. 06/27/05

I-293/NH 101 west lower toward the Huse Road overpass. The east-west portion of I-293 varies with four to five general travel lanes. 06/27/05

I-293/NH 101 west reach the off-ramp (Exit 1) to NH 28 (Willow Street). NH 28 is part of a multi state route leading north from Methuen, Massachusetts to Ossipee. Locally the route splits with NH 28A at the Hillsborough County line northward via Willow Street to the couplet of Maple and Beech Streets into Downtown Manchester. 06/27/05

Exit 1 ascends to a signalized intersection with NH 28 (Willow Street). Downtown Manchester lies 2.7 miles to the northwest. Londonberry is 12 miles south via NH 28 and 128. 06/27/05

Passing underneath the Willow Street overpass on I-293/NH 101 west. Interests to the Manchester Civic Center are directed to remain on I-293 north to Exits 4 or 5. The venue is home to the Manchester Monarchs minor league hockey (ECHL) franchise. 06/27/05

Next in line for westbound motorists is the diamond interchange (Exit 2) with NH 3A (Brown Avenue). NH 3A parallels the Merrimack River northward from Nashua to U.S. 3 (Queen City Avenue) in Manchester. Exit 2 formerly was signed for Manchester Boston Regional Airport (MHT). That changed with the November 11, 2011 opening of Raymond Wieczorek Drive, a 1.75 mile expressway east from Exit 13 of the F.E. Everett Turnpike to the airport passenger terminal. 06/27/05

Reassurance sign for I-293/NH 101 west posted at the President Road / abandoned Boston and Maine Railroad underpass. Upcoming NH 3A (Brown Avenue) leads 6.8 miles south into the town of Litchfield. 06/27/05

Drivers bound for NH 3A (Brown Avenue) depart I-293/NH 101 west at Exit 1. NH 3A provides a secondary route between Nashua and Manchester to the U.S. 3 mainline to the west. Both routes serve local traffic with through traffic using the F.E. Everett Turnpike. Continuing west, I-293/NH 101 span the Merrimack River ahead of their split at a directional cloverleaf interchange (Exit 2). 06/27/05

NH 3A merges with U.S. 3 (Queen City Avenue), 1.9 miles to the north. Airport Road leads east from Brown Avenue to Manchester Boston Regional Airport (MHT), 1.4 miles south of Exit 1. 06/27/05

Interstate 293 north joins the F.E. Everett Turnpike through west Manchester parallel to the Merrimack River. NH 101 extends the freeway west another two miles into Bedford. 06/27/05

Six lanes of I-293/NH 101 span the Merrimack River. The Merrimack flows south to Nashua and east to Lawrence and Newburyport, Massachusetts. 06/27/05

Interests to NH 114 west for Goffstown should remain on the NH 101 freeway spur beyond Interstate 293. NH 114 begins at NH 101 in Bedford and travels west 7.5 miles to Goffstown and 26 miles to U.S. 202/NH 9 at Henniker. 06/27/05

Traffic partitions between Interstate 293 (F.E. Everett Turnpike) north to Downtown Manchester and Concord and NH 101 west to F.E. Everett Turnpike south and U.S. 3 (River Road). NH 101 joins the Manchester area with Amherst and Milford to the southwest. F.E. Everett Turnpike is tolled south on the 15 mile drive between I-293 and Nashua. 06/27/05

A final look at the parting NH 101 westbound from Interstate 293 north. NH 101 travels overall between Hampton and Keene in southern reaches of the state. 06/27/05

North

I-293 north merges onto the free portion of the F.E. Everett Turnpike. Interstate 293 sees three additional interchanges for Manchester, the first of which joins the turnpike with U.S. 3 (2nd Street) by the Queen City Bridge across the Merrimack River. U.S. 3 north intersects NH 114A (2nd Street) and merges with NH 3A at the west end of the span. 06/27/05

Northbound reassurance sign for Interstate 293 and the F.E. Everett Turnpike posted ahead of the Manchester city line. 06/27/05

One half mile south of the off-ramp (Exit 4) to U.S. 3 (Second Avenue) on Interstate 293 (F.E. Everett Turnpike) north. U.S. 3 follows Second Avenue north parallel to the freeway from NH 101 to NH 3A (Queen City Avenue) and 114 (2nd Street). NH 114A begins and ventures northwest to Pinardville en route to NH 114 and Goffstown; NH 3A joins U.S. 3 north across the Merrimack River to Elm Street where the pair split. 08/16/11

Interests to the Manchester area colleges, the Civic Center (Verizon Wireless Arena), and Northeast Delta Dental Stadium, home of the New Hampshire Fishercats Double A Baseball team, should use exit Exit 4 (U.S. 3 north) or Exit 5 (Granite Street). Manchester is home to Mount Washington College (formerly Hesser College), UNH Manchester and Southern New Hampshire University. 06/27/05

Exit 4 veers away from I-293 north to cross over the freeway west to U.S. 3 (Second Avenue). U.S. 3 turns northward along Elm Street through Downtown Manchester while NH 3A south dog legs east from Elm Street on Baker Street to Calef Road south. NH 3A north joins Interstate 293 (F.E. Everett Turnpike) from 2nd Street to Exit 7 (Front Street). 06/27/05, 08/16/11

Originally consisting of a half diamond interchange, Exit 5 joins I-293 with Granite Street across from Elm (U.S. 3) and Canal Streets in Downtown Manchester. Construction between 2004 and June 2008 upgraded the Granite Street exit into a single point urban interchange (SPUI). The $28.7 million project ran in conjunction with a $25 million project involving widening and improving Granite Street across the Merrimack River to Elm Street.1 06/27/05

Attached to the Queen City Avenue over crossing is the half mile guide sign for Granite Street (Exit 5). Granite Street joins I-293/NH 3A with parallel Main Street in west Manchester. 08/16/11

/ NH 3A North

I-293/NH 3A hug the west banks of the Merrimack River as high rises in Downtown Manchester come into view. Passing over the freeway is the Piscataquog Trail, a rail trail running northwest from Heritage Trail and Downtown to the West Side Arena. Merging traffic from NH 3A adds a third northbound lane to the SPUI (Exit 5) with Granite Street. 06/27/05, 08/16/11

Exit 5 departs I-293/NH 3A (Everett Turnpike) north for Granite Street. Granite Street crosses the river a short distance north of the 6,500-seat Northeast Delta Dental Stadium. Granite Street transitions to Lake Avenue east from U.S. 3 at the Verizon Wireless Arena. 06/27/05, 08/16/11

I-293/NH 3A pass underneath the Bridge Street span over the Merrimack River one half mile south of Exit 6 to the Amoskeag Rotary. The rotary joins I-293 with Amoskeag Street east, Goffstown Road west, Eddy Road south and Front Street north. 08/16/11

Goffstown Road leads northwest from Amoskeag and Front Streets to Grasmere. Front Street parallels I-293/NH 3A northward to Dumbarton Road and Exit 7. Eddy Road ties into the Amoskeag Rotary from McGregor and Bridge Streets at the West Side area to the south. 08/16/11

Exit 6 departs I-293/NH 3A north into the Amoskeag Rotary ahead of the Amoskeag Bridge east to Canal Street south and Salmon Street east (to U.S. 3). The F.E. Everett Turnpikes leaves the Manchester urban area beyond Exit 6. 08/16/11

Continuing north to the Amoskeag Rotary overpass, I-293/NH 3A near their split at the half diamond interchange (Exit 7) with Front Street. 08/16/11

All three routes are reflected on this reassurance sign posted near the crossing of Black Brook. 06/27/05

NH 3A returns to a surface routing along Front Street at Exit 6. The state route parallels the Merrimack River northward to Hooksett via River Road once in Merrimack County. 06/27/05

Interstate 293 and NH 3A part ways at Exit 7. Both routes parallel each other closely to Interstate 93. Hooksett lies 6.5 miles to the north. 08/16/11

North

Interstate 293 (F.E. Everett Turnpike) enters its final three miles between Exit 7 and Interstate 93. 06/27/05

Return access to Interstate 93 south for Manchester and Salem is provided at the northern terminus of Interstate 293. I-93 overtakes the F.E. Everett Turnpike northward nine miles to its end at Interstate 89 in Concord. 08/16/11

The ramp to Interstate 93 south provides the last opportunity to exit before Interstate 293 merges with Interstate 93 on a tolled section of the F.E. Everett Turnpike. I-93 south meets NH 3A nearby. 08/16/11

Interstate 293 northbound at the southbound off-ramp to Interstate 93. I-93 reaches U.S. 3 (Exit 9) in 2.4 miles. NH 101 east in 4.5 miles and Salem in 23 miles. 08/16/11, 06/27/05

Interstate 293 unceremoniously ends as a left side merge onto Interstate 93 northbound. I-93 continues two miles north to Exit 11 (Hackett Mill Road to NH 3A) at Hooksett. 06/27/05

Photo Credits:

06/27/05 by AARoads and Carter Buchanan. 08/16/11 by I.C. Ligget.

Connect with:
Route 101

Page Updated 02-07-2015.