Interstate 93
Interstate 93 is an Interstate Highway in the New England states of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont in the United States. Spanning approximately along a north–south axis, it is one of three primary Interstate Highways located entirely within New England; the other two are I-89 and I-91. The largest cities along the route are Boston, and Manchester, New Hampshire; it also travels through the New Hampshire state capital of Concord.
I-93 begins at an interchange with I-95, US Route 1 and Route 128 in Canton, Massachusetts. It travels concurrently with US 1 beginning in Canton, and, with Route 3 beginning at the Braintree Split on the Braintree–Quincy city line, through the Central Artery in Downtown Boston before each route splits off beyond the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge. The portion of highway between the Braintree Split and the Central Artery is named the "Southeast Expressway", while the portion from Boston to the New Hampshire state line is named the "Northern Expressway".
I-93 ends in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, at I-91. For most of its length, I-93 indirectly parallels US 3. In New Hampshire, the two highways have several interchanges with each other, as well as a concurrency through Franconia Notch State Park.
Route description
Massachusetts
I-93's southern terminus is at exit 26 of I-95 in Canton, cosigned with US 1 north. At this junction, I-95 north heads to the northwest, to serve as the beltway around Boston, while I-95 south runs by itself southwest through Boston's southwestern suburbs toward Rhode Island. The southernmost of I-93 run east through Boston's southern suburbs, passing through Canton and Randolph. In Randolph, I-93 meets the northern end of Route 24 at exit 4. I-93 continues east into Braintree, interchanging with Route 3, the major freeway linking Boston to Cape Cod, at exit 7. Route 3 north joins I-93 and US 1, and the highway turns north toward Boston. These first of I-93 follow what was formerly part of Route 128 before it was truncated at the I-95/I-93 junction.File:Boston Signs.jpg|thumb|Signs in the Financial District of Boston pointing toward Downtown Crossing, Chinatown, I-93, and I-90
Upon turning northward, the highway is known as the Southeast Expressway, passing through Quincy and Milton before crossing into the city of Boston over the Neponset River. After the Massachusetts Avenue connector exit, the highway officially becomes the John F. Fitzgerald Expressway, also known as the Central Artery, and passes beneath Downtown Boston. A major intersection with the Massachusetts Turnpike/I-90 takes place just south of Downtown Boston. After the massive interchange, motorists use the O'Neill Tunnel to travel underneath the city and then use the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge to cross the Charles River. Two exits are located in the tunnel, where the speed limit is. Route 3 leaves the Artery just before the Zakim bridge via exit 18, and US 1 leaves the Artery just after the bridge, via exit 19 . From Boston through the rest of Massachusetts, Concord, New Hampshire, appears as the control city on northbound overhead signs. The Artery ends as I-93 continues north out of the city.
I-93 continues through the northern suburbs of Boston, coming to a second interchange with I-95 and Route 128, which run concurrently. Travelers going north can either change over to I-95 north to eventually reach Maine or remain on I-93 toward New Hampshire. Farther north, in Andover, I-93 meets I-495, providing access to Worcester to the southwest and New Hampshire's Seacoast Region to the northeast. Just south of the state line, I-93 crosses the Merrimack River into Methuen, where it intersects Route 110 and Route 113 at exit 43 just north of the river crossing. Between 2014 and 2018, the Route 110/Route 113 junction beneath I-93 was converted from a rotary to a partial cloverleaf, with the new traffic patterns opening in various stages during 2016 and 2017. On I-93 northbound, the exit was split into 43A for Route 110 and Route 113 eastbound, and 43B for Route 110 and Route 113 westbound. I-93 then interchanges with the western end of Route 213, a connector between I-93 and I-495. I-93 then crosses into New Hampshire after about.
In all, I-93 has 46 numbered exits in Massachusetts, although, before the mileage-based exit numbering system was implemented in 2021, several numbers were skipped in and near Boston. Several exits were removed from I-93 to address traffic problems in addition to converting the Central Artery from 6 to 8 to 10 lanes, by reducing the combined number of on- and offramps from 27 to 14. Exit 46 in Methuen, just before the New Hampshire state line, is the highest-numbered exit along the entire route. I-93 once had only 22 exits prior to the rerouting of I-95 onto Route 128. Nearly the entire length of I-93 in Massachusetts carries four lanes in each direction. Average daily traffic volumes on I-93 in the state range from 100,000 vehicles at the New Hampshire border and 150,000 vehicles at the southern end at I-95 to over 200,000 vehicles through Braintree and Quincy.
New Hampshire
I-93 travels just over in New Hampshire, about 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, as the Everett Turnpike from Hooksett to Concord, and as the Styles Bridges Highway, after the US politician, 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 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 $1.00. This is the only toll collected along the entire length of the highway. 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 and welcome center is available on the northbound side of the freeway, directly before exit 1. I-93 is four lanes wide in each direction for its first, until the split with I-293 and New Hampshire Route 101, where I-93 drops to three lanes before adding a fourth and fifth lane back to the freeway after the interchange. The construction to widen I-93 to four lanes each way between the Massachusetts–New Hampshire border and its junction with I-293 and NH 101 was completed in 2021.
I-93 and NH 101 run concurrently for about before NH 101 exits to the east as its own freeway, serving Portsmouth and the Seacoast Region. I-93 maintains three lanes of traffic in each direction until the junction with I-89, where it becomes two lanes in each direction through most of its journey northward, with the only exception being the Franconia Notch section.
In the state capital of Concord, I-393 heads directly east, providing another route to the Seacoast Region. Westbound US 4 joins I-93 and runs concurrently with it, crossing the Merrimack River again, until exit 17 for Penacook, about farther north, before exiting westward. Continuing north, I-93 traverses the Lakes Region of New Hampshire and then makes its way north through the heart of the White Mountains Region. I-93 passes through Franconia Notch State Park as a two-lane freeway with a speed limit, designed to reduce I-93's impact on Franconia Notch. For the trip through Franconia Notch, I-93 and US 3 run concurrently.
Beyond Franconia Notch State Park, US 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 and welcome center is accessible to travelers from both sides of the highway.
In 2013, a bill was signed by governor Maggie Hassan to raise the speed limit on I-93 to from milemarker 45 to the Vermont border, with the exception of the Franconia Notch Parkway. The new limit took effect on January 1, 2014.
Vermont
I-93 runs for in Vermont, with one numbered exit in the state before ending at the interchange with I-91 in St. Johnsbury in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. A rest area and welcome center is located along the northbound side of the highway for travelers entering from New Hampshire. The final of the Interstate actually veer to the southwest while traveling northbound. Vehicles bound for Canada can use northbound I-91 to reach the Derby Line–Stanstead Border Crossing at that Interstate's end, and northwards into Canada as an autoroute freeway into the Canadian province of Quebec. The portion of I-93 in Vermont parallels both US 2 and Vermont Route 18.History
Southeast Expressway
The Southeast Expressway was constructed between 1954 and 1959, at the same time the John F. Fitzgerald Expressway was built. Its northern terminus is at exit 15 or 15B in South Boston, a former Y interchange where the canceled Southwest Corridor/I-95 was to meet with I-93 and run concurrent northward into downtown. The southern terminus is at the Y interchange at exit 7 in Braintree. A section of the expressway, beginning south of the Savin Hill overpass and ending just before the Braintree Split, utilizes a zipper lane, in which a movable barrier carves out a reversible high-occupancy vehicle lane on the non-peak side of the highway during rush hour. Most of the right of way for the Granite Railway in Milton and Quincy was incorporated into the expressway.On August 21, 1969, a train of three runaway locomotives burst out of what is now Cabot Yard, across Frontage Road, and blocked the northbound side of the highway.