Hookset Toll Question

[BlackCatIslander]

We noticed that there is some clearing being done near the toll plaza. I wonder if they are considering making changes to allow high speed EZ pass lanes such as other states now have. Every minute saved is more time at the lake.

[hilltopper]

Originally Posted by BlackCatIslander

We noticed that there is some clearing being done near the toll plaza. I wonder if they are considering making changes to allow high speed EZ pass lanes such as other states now have. Every minute saved is more time at the lake.

Yes, they are. I believe the completion date is June 2013.

[AC2717]

I love it, think it is a great idea, a that-a-boy out of me for sure

does anyone think that heading North it will make a Bottleneck when you get down the Hill to the Rt 89 Split heading into Concord because the car flow will be faster and it jumps down to 2 lans

[NoBozo]

They just started making this change at the Newport Bridge here in Rhode Island. They say it will allow you to go through the fast lane at 40 MPH. I don't really know why they need it here because I have never seen a back up at this locaton. There just isn't that much traffic at $4 one way for Out of Staters . NB

[Slickcraft]

From the Union Leader:

HOOKSETT — Where did all the trees go?

A lot of New Hampshire commuters might have asked that last week after hundreds of trees, most of them tall pines, were cut, stacked and chipped near the Hooksett toll plaza on Interstate 93.

The answer actually may make a lot of those folks happy: It's the first step toward "open-road tolling" at that location.

As anyone who's gone through the I-95 tolls in Hampton in the past two years knows, open-road tolling allows motorists with E-ZPass transponders to drive in separate lanes at highway speed instead of slowing down for the toll plaza. The Department of Transportation said last week the same system should be up and running at the Hooksett tolls by mid-June of next year.

Christopher Wasczcuk, administrator of the Bureau of Turnpikes at DOT, explained the paved roadway in the area will need to be widened to accommodate two extra booths on each side.

And that's what commuters are seeing: “They're in essence cutting all the trees to accommodate the slope work that is going to be needed to support the widening,” he said.

R.S. Audley Inc. of Bow won the $22.9 million contract, according to DOT spokesman William Boynton. He explained it involves taking away six conventional tollbooths in the middle of the plaza and replacing them with four open-road tolling lanes, two in each direction.

Concrete median barriers will separate those lanes from regular traffic, both before and after the toll plaza, he said.

“That has proven to be very effective because you don't have the differing speeds next to each other,” Boynton said. “You're committing early to those lanes, and by the time the vehicles that have stopped at the conventional plaza get up to speed, they're merging again.”

The project also involves adding a highway lane south of the tolls to give drivers more room to maneuver the split for I-93 and Interstate 293, Wasczcuk said. Three bridges will also need rehabilitation, and drainage areas will be built, he said.

Boynton said the initial phase of the project involves clearing about 12.5 acres of state-owned land; about 80 percent of the trees are pines. The contractor will save some trees for saw logs, and the rest will go to a wood-burning energy plant, he said.

Wasczcuk said the contractor won't start work on the center of the toll plaza until fall, so that it doesn't hinder summer travelers.

The new lanes will be open in time for July 4th traffic next year, Wasczcuk said.

Drivers who have E-ZPass will save time and aggravation, he said. Overall, the new system is projected to save an estimated 460,000 gallons of gas a year and reduce exhaust emissions.

And it may not be just the air quality that improves, Wasczcuk noted. “I would think people's dispositions would improve,” as well, he said.

He said he's gotten many “very positive” emails about Hampton's open-road tolling.

Wasczcuk calls it “the next generation of tolling.”

“It's really fantastic and really a benefit to the traveler. We still need tolls to collect revenue and invest in the system, but it certainly makes it a lot easier to collect that toll for customers that have E-ZPass.”

Statewide, he noted, about 65 percent of turnpike users have the transponders. It's only about 60 percent of those who drive through the Hooksett tolls, but Wasczcuk expects that to increase once the new system is up and running.

Boynton noted the project is being funded through “a reissuing of turnpike bonds at a very favorable interest rate.”

“That saves a significant amount of money that's being applied toward this project,” he said.

[Wolfeboro_Baja]

Originally Posted by AC2717

does anyone think that heading North it will make a Bottleneck when you get down the Hill to the Rt 89 Split heading into Concord because the car flow will be faster and it jumps down to 2 lans

I could be wrong but I think they're eventually going to add another lane to the north and south bound lanes from the Hooksett tolls to an area north of Concord to ease the traffic congestion in peak travel periods.

[AC2717]

One more thing, and I am in this type of a mood today LOL
anyone else notice that R.S. Audley Inc has be doing all the Work on NH highways, including Rt 3 and Rt 95 as well as Rt 93. only say it because they place their large trailer at every work site

there I go, starting speculation rumors again that they are winning all the work

[NoBozo]

WB: I LIKE your SIG. NB

[IslandRadio]

Wonder if we'll ever see anything like that at the Bedford tolls??

[Belmont Resident]

Originally Posted by AC2717

One more thing, and I am in this type of a mood today LOL
anyone else notice that R.S. Audley Inc has be doing all the Work on NH highways, including Rt 3 and Rt 95 as well as Rt 93. only say it because they place their large trailer at every work site

there I go, starting speculation rumors again that they are winning all the work

I am just really glad to see that the work is being done by a NH contractor and not one from another state.
I see more and more area business's vowing only to use local contractors to complete building projects. Cantins is one example.

[VitaBene]

Originally Posted by AC2717

One more thing, and I am in this type of a mood today LOL
anyone else notice that R.S. Audley Inc has be doing all the Work on NH highways, including Rt 3 and Rt 95 as well as Rt 93. only say it because they place their large trailer at every work site

there I go, starting speculation rumors again that they are winning all the work

AC, I feel like we should be charging Audley for the billboard (trailer) and them putting their name on every Jersey barrier they own!

[Greene's Basin Girl]

Open-road tolling is great. I use it all the time with my Sunpass when I am in Florida. It saves a great deaL of time.

[SIKSUKR]

The owner of RS Audley is a long time friend of mine. Very solid upstanding local company that is based only a mile or so from the tolls on Rt 3a in Bow.

[SIKSUKR]

Originally Posted by VitaBene

AC, I feel like we should be charging Audley for the billboard (trailer) and them putting their name on every Jersey barrier they own!

Oh come on VB,should all road construction vehicles be forced to have trucks w/o any company names on the sides?

[AC2717]

I think Vita was just stating the same as I, with yup, they seem to get all the jobs.

Which you know is fine with me, being a NH company, just odd that they win all the major bids.

Sorry for the speculation was just making a observation

[chipj29]

Originally Posted by AC2717

One more thing, and I am in this type of a mood today LOL
anyone else notice that R.S. Audley Inc has be doing all the Work on NH highways, including Rt 3 and Rt 95 as well as Rt 93. only say it because they place their large trailer at every work site

there I go, starting speculation rumors again that they are winning all the work

Drive down 93 to Salem, where the widening is taking place. There are 3 or 4 different contractors doing the work. Severino is doing the work at exit 5, George Cairns is doing the work at exit 3, and Middlesex is doing the work at exit 1. Yes, Audley did the work on the Brookdale Rd overpass in Salem.
For info on what companies are doing the work, go to www.rebuildingi93.com

Yes, Audley gets a lot of the work in NH. Fine by me, since they are a local company, and their business HQ is in my town.

[ishoot308]

Sam Audley also has a place on the lake! He's a heck of a nice guy and provides a lot of jobs to local citizens.

Dan

[Greene's Basin Girl]

I went all through grammar school and high school with the Audley's. We all grew up in Bedford, NH. The three boys were very nice kids.

[dpg]

Originally Posted by BlackCatIslander

We noticed that there is some clearing being done near the toll plaza. I wonder if they are considering making changes to allow high speed EZ pass lanes such as other states now have. Every minute saved is more time at the lake.

Realistically what's it going to mean for arrive times compared to the typical fast lane we have today, maybe five more minutes?

[BroadHopper]

Like many NH natives, I am against interstate highway improvements. It is like opening the floodgates to permanent residents of the folks who lives outside NH.

[no-engine]

It's about time NH DOT did some thinking.
When first EZ pass was in design and construction, I emailed them pics of express lanes on NJ Turnpike, a Delaware toll at 55MPH. And also pics of the EZ Pass lanes to left only, because in middle is confusing and inconsistent with most others.....

[NoRegrets]

Originally Posted by dpg

Realistically what's it going to mean for arrive times compared to the typical fast lane we have today, maybe five more minutes?

I think it will allow you to get to the Concord backup sooner!! Sadly I think the time it takes to get to the lake will still be excessively long.

[Lakesrider]

Agreed. what is needed more is a third lane through Concord. Too many on/off ramps in that short bit of highway, and with the big S turn/ hill blocking all forward view it is just downright dangerous. I love it when the State Police park on the grass at the S turn. That just makes everyone take their eyes off the road. You got to love it there when there is a race too.

[chipj29]

Originally Posted by BroadHopper

Like many NH natives, I am against interstate highway improvements. It is like opening the floodgates to permanent residents of the folks who lives outside NH.

I am strongly pro-interstate improvements. There are thousands of people who live in NH and commute to MA for work. I am one of them.
Some people will say, well why don't you work in NH? Well, to that I would say that there are a couple reasons. For me, there are few jobs in NH in the industry I work in, and secondly, for the few places that have jobs like I do, the pay is significantly lower. As much as I hate the commute, it is worth the trip.

[chipj29]

Originally Posted by Lakesrider

Agreed. what is needed more is a third lane through Concord. Too many on/off ramps in that short bit of highway, and with the big S turn/ hill blocking all forward view it is just downright dangerous. I love it when the State Police park on the grass at the S turn. That just makes everyone take their eyes off the road. You got to love it there when there is a race too.

The third lane through Concord has been in the planning stages for over 10 years now. The problem is that due to insufficient funding, the project has been recently removed from the states 10 year highway improvement plan.

[BroadHopper]

The interstate is the biggest reason the commuter rail system is nonexistent. I remember back in the 50's and 60's taking the train from Laconia to Boston. It was a fun trip.

When I was working in Nashua in the late 70's, early 80's, there was commuter rail to Boston. Now I understand there are no commuter rail service North of Lowell.

I envision spending zillions of dollars on inter/intrastates, gas goes up to $10 a gallon and we have nothing to show for it. One big reason to spend the money on public transportation. A good example is the city of Denver or Seattle, it is cool to go public transportation. The buses, rails run on natural gas. There is an abundant supply of gas and clean to boot!

[P-3 Guy]

Originally Posted by BroadHopper

I envision spending zillions of dollars on inter/intrastates, gas goes up to $10 a gallon and we have nothing to show for it. One big reason to spend the money on public transportation.

Personal transportation conveyances can use fuel other than gasoline. If the gasoline supply dried up tomorrow, the roads would be empty for a while, but you can bet that wouldn't last for long.

[mcdude]

Originally Posted by Wolfeboro_Baja

I could be wrong but I think they're eventually going to add another lane to the north and south bound lanes from the Hooksett tolls to an area north of Concord to ease the traffic congestion in peak travel periods.

so....there already is a bottleneck there during peak time periods. Wouldn't it make more sense to add the new lanes through Concord before expanding the toll booth lanes?.......just sayin'

[Belmont Resident]

Originally Posted by mcdude

so....there already is a bottleneck there during peak time periods. Wouldn't it make more sense to add the new lanes through Concord before expanding the toll booth lanes?.......just sayin'

Come on, that make total sense. When is the last time you saw a state run agency do something that makes sense?
Just look at all the state roads around town that have been in need of repair for EVER. Like Rt-107, but because the race track brings in sooo much money they pave a perfectly good 106 instead.
They do what they want to do not whats right or makes sense,but then again they are state agencys and union workers, that makes them usless time two.

[SIKSUKR]

Originally Posted by mcdude

so....there already is a bottleneck there during peak time periods. Wouldn't it make more sense to add the new lanes through Concord before expanding the toll booth lanes?.......just sayin'

I'm with Chip and McD on this one. I never understood why a third lane was not part of the project the last time the whole Concord section was redone 10 or so years ago. Clearly putting more traffic through the tolls is only going to make the bottleneck in Concord worse.