I-93 fyi
 

Just a heads up for those of you who will be driving up I-93 this Friday. Due to the widening project, there are several areas of construction. A lot has changed since many of you were up here last.

The biggest change is the lane configuration at exit 1 in Salem. Before, there were 4 lanes. Lane 1 was the far left, with lane 4 the far right. In that configuration, the far right (4th) lane would exit, and the next lane (3rd) over you could either exit or go straight and merge with the 2nd lane.

Now, there are only 3 lanes. Stay left in Lanes 1 and 2 to stay on 93. The far right lane now ENDS right at the exit.

I suspect due to this change that the traffic at exit 1 on Friday afternoon will be pretty bad.

Good luck! If you can, take Rt 3 and avoid I-93 altogether.

Hooksett Toll Booth
 

Also, there was a terrible accident at the Hooksett toll booth over this past weekend and two of the lanes were shut down this morning when I went through. Based on the damage I saw there is no chance of repairing it by the weekend so it looks like a couple toll lanes will be down...

Great point Dan. Maybe DOT will be smart and open up a couple lanes on the SB side to head North.
The toll booth is always locked up pretty good on the holiday weekends. 2 booths shut down certainly won't help. Unfortunately there are only a couple of ways around that toll booth, and since I live real close to there, I am hesitant to give up my secret short-cuts. ;)

I'll give it up.Rt3a to Bow.:eek:Also,I thought I read that the toll lanes will be reopened in a few days.

From what I saw this morning the damage was quite significant. The concrete barrier directly in front of the toll booth was completely cracked off at the base and would need to be replaced. I can't imagine they would try and reuse this barrier. The rest of the damage looked superficial like broken glass and fire damage to the booth itself... I also never saw the state do anything fast!! :)

Dan

:mad:
Actually, that stretch of 3A can be horrendous through Hooksett. I have seen it back up from the stop lights in Hooksett Village all the way back to the ice rink. Now they are doing construction right on 3A in Bow, so it stinks there too. Better to avoid it.
With that said, that was not my super-secret short cut. It can be a nice alternative, but I really wouldn't recommend it.

Going through the toll booths yesterday after work there were 5 toll booths open and only ONE of the lanes was EZ Pass only (the other 4 were EZ Pass or cash). I hope Friday there's a couple more lanes open with a few of those being EZ Pass only.

Hooksett Tolls
 

"We've done a preliminary assessment of the structural integrity of the toll plaza, and we feel it is sound and safe," said Christopher Waszczuk of the Department of Transportation.

Transportation officials said they expect about 300,000 motorists to travel through the toll plaza during the upcoming holiday weekend, and all lanes should be open.

I almost forgot to mention the construction on 93 at exit 10 in Hooksett, both north and south. They are working on the bridge that crosses the Merrimack. 93 north is down to 2 lanes, as the far right lane is exit only. On 93 south, the 2 left lanes actually cross the median onto the northbound lanes. The far right lane is open, however DOT signs suggest that through traffic use the 2 left lanes as there is traffic entering the highway in the far right lane.

From the traffic chopper, this is chipj29 over and out!

If they leave that concrete barrier the way it is, I certainly would not want to be the person working in the booth as I do not believe it would stand up to another impact.

I agree with that, but prior to the accident that lane was being primarily used for EZ Pass only traffic. No humans needed in the booth for that.

If they were unable to fix the barrier, and needed a human in the booth, I would think/hope they would set up a temporary barrier, such as the water-filled barrels etc.

Tolls fully open
 

I can confirm that as of this morning, all the northbound toll booths were open and operational, including the one that was damaged by the fire.

For those traveling up 93 there are a number of traffic cams through the 93 reconstruction area. Also in Hooksett at exit 10 and in Concord from Delta Dental. There is also a cam in Rochester on Rt 16.
http://www.nhtrafficcams.com/

I've never quoted myself but this is fun.

Well not entirely but I often ponder strange thoughts.
 

:d
..........

The wife and I went up the Everett on our way to I-89. Both Bedford and Hooksett tolls were fine at 9pm. Hopefully it will stay this way through the summer but right now there are still a couple projects going on in Merrimack and at the Bedford tolls so be alert to lanes changes and such if you come up Rte-3 instead of I-93.

Also, Rt-3 and the Everett are the same up to Exit-6 in Nashua. At that point Rt-3 branches off and is a local road well into the 'great north.' If you don't mind paying the toll stay on the Everett to save time.

Thanks for posting that, I totally forgot to post that link. I visit that site often to check the traffic.