Interstate 293

Interstate 293 Auxiliary route of the Interstate Highway System
Maintained by NHDOT
Length:	11.43 mi[1] (18.39 km)
South end:	I-93/NH 101 in Manchester
Major junctions:	NH Route 28 in Manchester Everett Turnpike/NH 101 in Bedford US-3/NH 3A in Manchester
North end:	I-93/Everett Tpk. in Hooksett
New Hampshire Routes < NH 286 US 302 > < NH 175A US 202 >

Interstate 293 (abbreviated I-293) is an 11-mile (18 km) long loop surrounding Manchester, New Hampshire, USA roughly shaped like two sides of a triangle. Completing the loop in the northeast (the third side of the triangle) is Interstate 93. The southern portion of the loop shares the road with NH 101 and passes near Manchester-Boston Regional Airport and the Mall of New Hampshire. The western portion of the loop shares the road with the Everett Turnpike, but there are no tolls on this portion of the turnpike.

Route description

A view of the city of Manchester, N.H. when traveling southbound on I-293

Interstate 293 begins at a directional T interchange in the southeast of Manchester, where NH 101 West leaves I-93.^[2] I-293 is signed as a north-south road, but along the section concurrent with NH 101, the road travels in an entirely westerly direction. Exits 1 and 2 provide access to the Mall of New Hampshire area and the Manchester Airport respectively. After crossing the Merrimack River, I-293 enters the modified cloverleaf exit 3 interchange where I-293, NH 101, and the Everett Turnpike intersect. At exit 3, NH 101 leaves I-293 and continues west as a four-lane freeway to its junction with NH 114. I-293 makes a nearly 90-degree turn here, joining the Everett Turnpike and traveling north along the west bank of the Merrimack. The I-293/Everett Turnpike concurrency heads in to downtown Manchester, and is joined by NH 3A at exit 4. Exits 5 and 6 intersect local roads near bridges across the Merrimack, allowing travelers access to both east and west sides of Manchester. At exit 7, NH 3A leaves the concurrency, while I-293 and the Turnpike continue north to the end of I-293 at another interchange with I-93, just south of the Hooksett barrier toll plaza.^[3] From here I-93 and the Everett Turnpike are concurrent to the Turnpike's northern end in Concord.

As of June 16, 2008, the project to complete Exit 5 as a full interchange was complete. Drivers are now able to exit and enter Exit 5 both southbound and northbound. This exit is a Single Point Urban Interchange (SPUI), the third in New Hampshire.

View from I-93 northbound approaching the southern terminus of I-293.

Like Interstate 393, the other secondary Interstate Highway in New Hampshire, I-293 is signed in concurrency with other routes along its entire length, and never runs alone other than on transition ramps between Route 101 and the Everett Turnpike. This is due to the I-293 designation having been added to already existing routes, Route 101 and the Everett Turnpike.

History

Before the portion of the Everett Turnpike that completed the I-293 loop was accepted into the Interstate Highway System, the east-west freeway between I-93 and the Turnpike was designated as Interstate 193 (I-193).^[4]

This image, from the General Location of National System of Interstate Highways book published by the U.S. Bureau of Public Roads in 1955, also known as the Yellow Book, shows I-93's proposed route to have been west of where it was eventually built, more closely paralleling (or replacing) US 3 and very similar to the actual route of the Everett Turnpike. It also shows a spur which would have likely been designated I-193. This spur is further north than the I-193 that was eventually built, and was probably intended to link the proposed I-93 to downtown Manchester via the Queen City Bridge or a new river crossing in that area.

Exit list

Interstate 293 has seven numbered interchanges (Exit 3 is not signed, but is implied). As is convention in New Hampshire, interchanges with other interstates (I-93 at each end of I-293) are unnumbered.

County	Location	Mile	#	Destinations	Notes
Hillsborough	Manchester
		begins at It begins overlapped with
		0.00		I-93 North/NH Route 101 East - Concord, Portsmouth Interstate 93 South - Derry, Boston	NH 101 joins northbound and leaves southbound.
			1	NH Route 28 (South Willow Street)
			2	NH Route 3A (Brown Avenue)	To Manchester-Boston Regional Airport.
	Bedford
		3.4	(3)	TO - NH Route 101 West to U.S. Route 3/NH Route 114 Everett Turnpike South - Nashua	I-293 exits Route 101 and joins the Everett Turnpike northbound. I-293 exits the Everett Turnpike and joins Route 101 southbound. Northbound mainline transitions to Route 101 West. Southbound mainline transitions to the Everett Turnpike South. NOTE:Exit number is not signed, but the number is implied as the interchange lies between Exits 2 and 4.
		leaves joins
	Manchester	5.0	4	NH Route 3A South/US 3/NH Route 114A	Route 3A joins northbound and leaves southbound.
		joins
			5	Granite Street - West Manchester
			6	Amoskeag Bridge/Goffstown Road - West Manchester, Downtown
			7	NH Route 3A North (Front Street)	Northbound exit/southbound entrance only. Route 3A leaves northbound and joins southbound.
		leaves
Merrimack	Hooksett	11.18		Interstate 93 South - Salem, Boston I-93/Everett Turnpike North - Concord	I-293 North merges with I-93 North. Everett Turnpike leaves northbound and joins southbound. NOTE: Everett Turnpike unsigned north of this interchange.
		ends at joins and continues north

References

v • d • e Auxiliary routes of Interstate 93 New Hampshire: 293 • 393