Route 101

A major route across southern New Hampshire, Route 101 stretches 95 miles east from Keene to Milford, Manchester, Exeter, Hampton and the Seacoast. The route is a full freeway from NH 114 in Bedford to U.S. 1 in Hampton. Expressway bypasses take NH 101 around the south side of both Keene and Milford as well.

The state route overlaps with Interstate 293 between the F.E. Everett Turnpike in Bedford and the Interstate 93 south split in Manchester. This section opened in 1961. I-93 takes the route north to its independent freeway east to the Seacoast, which opened in stages as a super two expressway to 1968.¹

New Hampshire Route 101 Guides

• East - Bedford & Manchester
• East - Manchester to Hampton
• West - Hampton to Manchester
• West - Manchester & Bedford

Widening of NeH 101 east from Manchester to the Seacoast was initialized in the 1960s with rights of way purchases along the two-lane roadway.² The stretch from Manchester to Epping was expanded to four lanes by the 1980s.³ The remainder of the project was set to follow but was delayed due to wetlands impacts.² The NH 101 project gained priority status by the state in 1989,⁵ with construction on the remainder of the route commencing at a ground breaking ceremony held at the intersection of NH 85 and NH 101 on October 20, 1992.⁶

Upgrades to the 17.6 mile stretch of NH 101 freeway from Raymond to Hampton took place as part of a $200 million project to 2001.² A 4.8 mile section of freeway for NH 101 opened from the Raymond town line to North Road in Epping on November 7, 1997.⁴ Work continued east on a six mile stretch, which included 4.5 miles of new roadway.⁷ This portion was known as the Gap, because it joined two preexisting sections of NH 101 from North Road in Brentwood to the Squamscott River in Exeter. The 6.2 mile stretch opened to traffic after a ribbon cutting ceremony held on the morning of September 8, 1999.⁸ The former alignment retained the designation of NH 27.

Expansion of the easternmost 6.6 mile stretch of NH 101, from the interchange with NH 108 in Stratham to Interstate 95 and NH 27 in Hampton, was initially opened on November 16, 2000.² Touch up work, final pavement and landscaping continued through May 2001, but the last piece of major construction was completed on April 30, 2001 with the opening of the permanent ramps at the single point urban interchange (SPUI) between NH 101 and 108.⁹

The route of NH 101 east from NH 108 to Hampton Beach was designated as NH 51 until July 1995.¹ The route previously ran northeast alongside NH 108 from Parkman Corner to the Stratham town center and along what is now NH 33 east to Greenland and Portsmouth.

Connect with:
Interstate 93
Interstate 95 - Blue Star Turnpike
F.E. Everett Turnpike
U.S. 3
Route 1A
Route 28
Route 114

Page Updated 02-23-2015.