page_title: Interstate 93
section_title: New Hampshire
hierarchical_section_title: Interstate 93 / Route description / New Hampshire
caption_attribution_description: English: Interstate 93/US Route 3 in Franconia Notch
context_page_description: Interstate 93 is an Interstate Highway in the New England region of the United States. It begins in Canton, Massachusetts, in the Boston metropolitan area, at I-95; and ends near St. Johnsbury, Vermont, at I-91. It is one of three mainline Interstate highways located wholly within New England, the other two being I-89 and I-91. The largest cities along its route are Manchester, New Hampshire, and Boston, Massachusetts. It also passes through the New Hampshire state capital of Concord.
  For most of its length, I-93 indirectly parallels U.S. Route 3. Particularly in New Hampshire, the two highways have several interchanges with each other, as well as a concurrency through Franconia Notch State Park. I-93 follows the Southeast Expressway south of downtown Boston, the Central Artery through Boston, and the Northern Expressway from Boston to the New Hampshire state line.
context_section_description: Interstate 93 travels just over 131 miles (211 km) in the Granite State, around two-thirds of the highway's total distance. Serving as the main interstate route in New Hampshire, it connects the state capital, Concord, and its largest city, Manchester. Beyond Concord are the towns of Tilton, Plymouth, and Littleton. I-93 is designated as the Alan B. Shepard Highway, from the Massachusetts line to Hooksett (just north of Manchester at the northern terminus of I-293), as the F.E. Everett Turnpike from Hooksett to Concord, and as the Styles Bridges Highway from Concord to the Vermont line. This section of roadway was constructed between 1961 and 1977.
  Between the northern end of I-293 in Hooksett and the beginning of I-89 in Bow, I-93 also carries the northern end of the Everett Turnpike. There is one toll booth along this section, at Exit 11 in Hooksett; the toll for passenger cars is $1 (50¢ at the ramp toll booth). This is the only toll collected along the entire length of Interstate 93. I-93 in New Hampshire is also notable for having state liquor stores serve as rest areas, which are passed just after the toll plaza, traveling north. There are separate stores on both sides of the Interstate for travelers in each direction.
  I-93 enters New Hampshire at Salem. A rest area/welcome center is available on the northbound side of the freeway, directly before Exit 1. I-93 remains three lanes wide in each direction for its first 7 miles (11 km), until after the exit 3 interchange in Windham. It then drops to two lanes until the split with Interstate 293 and the junction with New Hampshire Route 101 add a third and fourth lane back to the freeway. Construction is currently underway to widen I-93 between Exit 3 and its junction with I-293 and NH-101. As of July 2020, the project is almost complete (currently completed from exit 4 onwards). I-93 and New Hampshire Route 101 run concurrently for about 1 mile (1.6 km) before New Hampshire Route 101 heads directly east as its own freeway, serving Portsmouth and the Seacoast region. I-93 keeps three lanes of traffic in each direction until the junction with Interstate 89, when each side reduces back to two, and remains a four-lane freeway through most of its journey northward, with the only exception being the Franconia Notch section.
  It crosses the Merrimack River again before going through the state capital of Concord. In Concord, Interstate 393 heads directly east (co-signed with eastbound U.S. Route 4 and U.S. Route 202), providing another route to the Seacoast region. Westbound U.S. Route 4 joins I-93 and runs concurrently with it until Exit 17 for Penacook, about 5 miles (8.0 km) further north, before exiting westward. Continuing north, I-93 traverses the Lake Winnipesaukee tourist region and makes its way north through the heart of the White Mountains Region. I-93 passes through Franconia Notch State Park as a Super-2 parkway (one lane in each direction) with a 45 miles per hour (70 km/h) speed limit, designed to reduce I-93's impact on Franconia Notch. For the trip through Franconia Notch, I-93 and U.S. Route 3 run concurrently.
  Beyond Franconia Notch State Park, U.S. 3 heads northeastward through the Great North Woods region, while I-93 runs to the northwest. The final town along I-93 in New Hampshire is Littleton, served by four exits. Many motorist services are available at Exit 42. After passing through town, it crosses the Connecticut River into Vermont. The last exit along I-93 is exit 44 for Monroe, through which a rest area/welcome center is accessible to travelers on both sides of the highway.
  In 2013, a bill was signed by governor Maggie Hassan to raise the speed limit on Interstate 93 to 70 mph (115 km/h) from mile marker 45 to the Vermont border. The new limit took effect on January 1, 2014.
caption: Northbound lane of Interstate 93/US Route 3 in Franconia Notch
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