 Interstate 293 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 I-293 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Auxiliary route ofI-93 | ||||
| Maintained byNHDOT | ||||
| Length | 11.18 mi[1] (17.99 km) | |||
| NHS | Entire route | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end |   I-93 /NH 101 inManchester | |||
| Major intersections | ||||
| North end |  I-93 /Everett Turnpike inHooksett | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | New Hampshire | |||
| Counties | Hillsborough,Merrimack | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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Interstate 293 (I-293) is an 11-mile-long (18 km)auxiliary Interstate Highway surroundingManchester, New Hampshire, roughly shaped like two sides of atriangle. Completing the loop in the northeast (the third side of the triangle) isI-93. The southern portion of the loop shares the road withNew Hampshire Route 101 (NH 101) and passes nearManchester–Boston Regional Airport andThe Mall of New Hampshire. The western portion of the loop shares the road with theEverett Turnpike, but there are no tolls on this portion of the turnpike.
I-293 begins at adirectional T interchange in the southeast of Manchester, whereNH 101 west leavesI-93.[2] I-293 is signed as a north–south road, but, along the sectionconcurrent with NH 101, the road travels in an entirely westerly direction. Exits 1 and 2 provide access toThe Mall of New Hampshire area andManchester–Boston Regional Airport respectively. After crossing theMerrimack River, I-293 enters the modifiedcloverleaf exit 3 interchange where I-293, NH 101, and theEverett Turnpike intersect. At exit 3, NH 101 leaves I-293 and continues west as a four-lane freeway to its junction withNH 114. I-293 makes a nearly 90-degree turn here, joining the Everett Turnpike and traveling north along the west bank of theMerrimack River. The I-293/Everett Turnpike concurrency heads in to downtown Manchester and is joined byNH 3A at exit 4. Exits 5 and 6 intersect local roads near bridges across the Merrimack River, 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 theHooksett barriertoll plaza.[3] From here, I-93 and the Everett Turnpike are concurrent to the turnpike's northern end inConcord.
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 asingle-point urban interchange, the third in New Hampshire.
LikeI-393, the other auxiliary 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 NH 101 and the Everett Turnpike. This is due to the I-293 designation having been added to already existing routes, NH 101, and the Everett Turnpike.
I-293 overlays portions of two earlier routes that were upgraded to provide the route an Interstate designation. NH 101 was the main east–west route across southern New Hampshire, connectingKeene with (at the time)Portsmouth, and passed through southern Manchester. TheEverett Turnpike was an early toll highway connecting the three cities of theMerrimack Valley:Nashua, Manchester, and Concord. When it was accepted into the Interstate Highway System, the short NH 101 freeway from I-93 to the Everett Turnpike was numbered I-193 from 1961 to 1977. When I-93 was completed in 1977, the Everett Turnpike from NH 101 to I-93 was added to the route and it was renumbered as I-293. The NH 101 to Everett Turnpike interchange was later rebuilt to provide a free-flowing transition between the two legs.[4]
| County | Location[5][6] | mi[5][6] | km | Exit | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hillsborough | Manchester | 0.000 | 0.000 | – |  I-93 /NH 101 east –Salem,Boston,Concord,Portsmouth | Southern terminus; southern end of NH 101 concurrency |
| 1.291 | 2.078 | 1 |  NH 28 (South Willow Street) | Mall of New Hampshire | ||
| 2.742 | 4.413 | 2 |  NH 3A (Brown Avenue) | Formerly signed for access toManchester–Boston Regional Airport and town ofLitchfield | ||
| Bedford | 3.291 | 5.296 | 3 |      US 3 /NH 101 west /Everett Turnpike south toNH 114 –Merrimack,Nashua,Bedford,Milford | No direct northbound access to US 3; northern end of NH 101 concurrency; southern end of Everett Tpke. concurrency; exit number not signed | |
| Manchester | 4.892 | 7.873 | 4 |   US 3 (Queen City Avenue / Second Street) /NH 3A south /NH 114A | Southern end of NH 3A concurrency | |
| 5.947 | 9.571 | 5 | Granite Street –West Manchester | |||
| 7.431 | 11.959 | 6 | Amoskeag Street / Goffstown Road | |||
| 8.430 | 13.567 | 7 |  NH 3A north (Front Street) –Hooksett | Northbound exit and southbound entrance; northern end of NH 3A concurrency | ||
| Merrimack | Hooksett | – |  I-93 south –Salem | Northbound exit and southbound entrance | ||
| 11.771 | 18.944 | – |  I-93 north (Everett Turnpike) –Concord | Northern terminus; northern end of Everett Tpke. concurrency | ||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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