Everett Turnpike

Everett Turnpike
Length:	39.9 mi[1] (64.2 km)
Formed:	ca. 1955
South end:	US 3 in Tyngsborough, MA
Major junctions:	I-293/NH Rt. 101 in Bedford I-93 in Hooksett I-89 in Bow
North end:	I-93/NH Route 9 in Concord

The Frederick E. Everett Turnpike, also called the Central New Hampshire Turnpike, is a toll road in New Hampshire, USA, running 44 miles (71 km) from the Massachusetts border at Nashua north to Concord. The Everett Turnpike is named for Frederick Elwin Everett, the first Commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Transportation.^[2]

The turnpike is part of the New Hampshire Turnpike System, and is operated by the New Hampshire Department of Transportation's Bureau of Turnpikes.

The Everett Turnpike today

Much of the turnpike's length has been overlapped by other numbered routes. Portions of the road are shared with U.S. Route 3, Interstate 93, and Interstate 293. The southern portion of the turnpike, in Nashua, is posted as U.S. Route 3, serving as an extension of the US-3 freeway (Northwest Expressway) from Burlington, Massachusetts. North of Exit 7 in Nashua, the turnpike runs by itself and has no number, but parallels US-3, which is a toll-free local road variously known as Concord Street (within the city of Nashua) and the Daniel Webster Highway (within Merrimack and Bedford). Approaching the Manchester area in Bedford, the turnpike is joined by I-293 which splits off from a concurrency with NH Route 101. At Exit 4 (exits are numbered for I-293 on this stretch), NH Route 3A joins the freeway, and the concurrency passes through Manchester, near the downtown area of the city. Upon passing Manchester, Route 3A splits off at Exit 7, I-293's last northbound exit. The freeway passes into Hooksett, and I-293 ends at an interchange with I-93. The Everett Turnpike ceases to be signed at this interchange, but joins I-93 northbound and continues towards Concord, interchanging with the southern terminus of Interstate 89 along the way. No definitive northern terminus for the turnpike exists as far as signage is concerned. This endpoint was originally at a traffic circle next to downtown Concord that has since been replaced by Exit 14 with New Hampshire Route 9.

There are two mainline toll plazas on the turnpike, in Bedford and Hooksett. The Bedford mainline toll plaza, located between Exit 12 and I-293, replaced the Merrimack toll plaza (formerly located at what is now Exit 11) in the early 1990s. Ramp tolls also exist in Merrimack (at Exits 10, 11, and 12) and Hooksett (the on/off-ramps to I-93 Exit 11/N.H. Route 3-A). E-ZPass readers were installed in all toll locations in 2005. A "Welcome Center" exists in Nashua (just off Exit 6), and major rest areas combined with state-run liquor stores straddle the highway in Hooksett just north of the mainline toll plaza, which is located on I-93 at Exit 11.

The proposed (but mostly unbuilt) Circumferential Highway around the east side of Nashua is defined as part of the turnpike.^[3] Henri A. Burque Highway, the surface road that U.S. Route 3 uses to get between exit 7 of the turnpike and the Daniel Webster Highway in northern Nashua, is also part of it.^[1]

Signage issues

The northern end of I-293 as viewed from I-93 northbound. The Everett Turnpike joins I-93 North at this interchange, but signage does not indicate this.

Though the Turnpike continues north to Concord, it is not signed north of the I-293 merge in Hooksett. Traveling on I-93 North, the exit for I-293 is signed as I-293/Everett Turnpike South, while the mainline is signed solely as I-93 North (as a toll highway). Traveling on I-293 North, Everett Turnpike signage stops at the merge, with I-93 North signed by itself. No indications of the northern terminus exist on I-93 in either direction. The first reassurance of the Turnpike southbound is after exiting onto I-293. No indications of the Turnpike exist on any intersecting highways north of the merge, including Interstate 89.

Mileage posts on the Turnpike are only posted from the Massachusetts state line to the interchange with I-293 and Route 101. North of this interchange, only mileposts of the respective Interstate highways are posted.

Exit list

County	Town	Mile[1] (km)	Exit #			Destinations	Notes
			Old		New
U.S. Route 3 Freeway continues south into Massachusetts southbound begins overlapped with
Hillsborough	Nashua	0.50 (0.80)		1	1	Spit Brook Road - South Nashua
		1.49 (2.40)		2	2 (1A)	TO To NH Route 3A - Daniel Webster Highway; Hudson (Circumferential Highway)	Ramp from Exit 1 northbound collector-distributor lane numbered Exit 1A.
		2.59 (4.17)	1	3[4]	3	Daniel Webster Highway - South Nashua	Southbound exit/northbound entrance only.
		3.18 (5.12)		4[4]	4	East Dunstable Road	Formerly signed as "East Dunstable Road / FAA Center." The "FAA Center" signage was removed at the request of the Federal Aviation Administration shortly after the September 11, 2001 attacks.
		4.69 (7.55)	2	5[4]	5E-W	TO NH Route 111 to NH Route 111A - Nashua; Hudson; Pepperell, MA
		5.13 (8.25)			5A	Simon Street	Northbound exit only. (Past signs listed this as Exit "5E-A")
		6.22 (10.01)		6[4][5]	6	NH Route 130 - Broad Street; Hollis
		6.74 (10.85)	3	7[4][5]	7E-W	U.S. Route 3 north; NH Route 101A - Nashua; Downtown; Amherst; Milford	U.S. Route 3 joins southbound and leaves northbound. Exit 7E provides access to US-3 North and NH-101A East. Exit 7W provides access to NH-101A West.
		leaves
		7.66 (12.33)		7W[3]	8	NH Route 101A west - Amherst; Milford (NH Route 101A Bypass west)	Locally known as Somerset Parkway
	Merrimack	N/A			(9)	No exit. Possible future use.	Reserved for a northern terminus interchange of the Circumferential Highway.
		9.83 (15.82)			10	TO To U.S. Route 3 - Industrial Drive	SB entrance/NB exit toll: 50 cents. 35 cents for NH EZPass users. No toll for other ramps.
		11.10 (17.86)	4	8[4][3][6]	11	TO To U.S. Route 3 - Merrimack	Sb entrance/NB exit toll: 50 cents. 35 cents for NH EZPass users. No toll for other ramps.
		14.94 (24.04)			12	TO To U.S. Route 3 - Bedford Road	Northbound exit/southbound entrance only. Entrance and exit toll: 50 cents. 35 cents for NH EZPass users.
	Bedford	Bedford Toll Plaza					Auto toll: $1.00; 70 cents for NH EZPass users
		N/A			(13)	Future exit: Manchester Airport Access Road	Under construction; completion expected in 2010.
		19.39 (31.21)	5	10[4][7]		Interstate 293 South/NH Route 101 East -Portsmouth TO NH Route 101 West to U.S. Route 3; to NH Route 114 - Exeter; Bedford; Milford	I-293 joins northbound and leaves southbound.
		joins Exit numbering and mileposts revert to scheme of I-293. Indicated mileages are respective of the Turnpike but are not posted.
	Manchester
		21.22 (34.15)	6	4[8]	4	U.S. Route 3; NH Route 3A South; NH Route 114A - Manchester	Route 3A joins northbound and leaves southbound.
		joins
		21.96 (35.34)			5	Granite Street — Downtown	Full interchange as of Oct. 2008
		23.27 (37.45)	7	5[8]	6	Amoskeag Street; Goffstown Road
		24.25 (39.03)			7	NH Route 3A north - Hooksett	Northbound exit/southbound entrance only. Route 3A leaves northbound and leaves southbound.
		leaves
Merrimack	Hooksett
		27.18 (43.74)				Interstate 93 South - Salem; Boston, MA	I-93 joins northbound and leaves southbound. I-293 ends northbound and begins southbound. I-293 mainline merges into I-93 North.
		ends at joins Exit numbering and mileposts revert to scheme of I-93. Indicated mileages are respective of the Turnpike but are not posted.
		Hooksett Toll Plaza					Auto toll: 1 dollar; 71 cents for NH EZPass users.
		29.52 (47.51)	8	6[8]	11	NH Route 3A - Hooksett	Entrance and exit toll: 50 cents; 35 cents for NH EZPass users.
	Bow	36.24 (58.32)	9			Interstate 89 north - Lebanon; White River Junction, VT
	Concord	36.91 (59.40)	10		12S-N	TO NH Route 3A to Interstate 89 - Bow Junction; South Main Street
		38.08 (61.28)			13	U.S. Route 3 - Manchester Street; Downtown
		39.20 (63.09)			14	NH Route 9 - Loudon Road; State Offices
		ends; Interstate 93 continues north towards Plymouth

See also

• New Hampshire Highway System

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} GRANIT GIS data - NH Public Roads
2. ^ Brown, Janice A. (2006-08-23). "New Hampshire's Turnpike History". Cow Hampshire. BlogHarbor. http://cowhampshire.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2006/8/23/2251890.html. Retrieved 2009-01-15. 
3. ^ ^{a b c} New Hampshire Statutes Title XX Chapter 237
4. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} 1968 Indiana Toll Road map (has exits 3-10 from Nashua to Milford, then present exits 11-13 from Hooksett to Concord)
5. ^ ^{a b} 1985 USGS topo
6. ^ 1985 USGS topo
7. ^ 1985 USGS topo
8. ^ ^{a b c} 1957 USGS Suncook quadrangle

• Steve Anderson's BostonRoads.com: F.E. Everett Turnpike (US 3, I-293, and I-93)