Interstate 393

Interstate 393
I-393 highlighted in red
Route information
Auxiliary route ofI-93
Maintained byNHDOT
Length	4.6 mi(7.4 km)
Existed	1979–present
NHS	Entire route
Major junctions
West end	I-93/US 4/US 202inConcord
East end	US 4/US 202/NH 9inPembroke
Location
Country	United States
State	New Hampshire
Counties	Merrimack
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Suffixed Business Future New Hampshire Highway System Interstate US State Turnpikes
←US 302 →US 1

I-393 bridge over theMerrimack River

Interstate 393(I-393) is a 4.6-mile (7.4 km) east–westauxiliary Interstate Highwayextending fromI-93atConcordtoPembroke,New Hampshire. The primary purpose of the road is to bypass a densely built commercial strip onNew Hampshire Route 9(NH 9) in the eastern part of Concord. Several times a year, I-393 also serves traffic to events atNew Hampshire Motor SpeedwayinLoudon.I-393 runs concurrently withUS Route 4(US 4) andUS 202for its entire length.

Route description

I-393 begins atI-93's exit 15 interchange, whereUS 4east leaves itsconcurrencywith I-93 south and the I-393/US 4/US 202concurrency begins. The four-lane freeway actually begins a short distance west of I-93 at the north end of Concord's Main Street where US 202 turns east fromUS 3.From there, the road then intersects Commercial Street just before the exit 15 interchange.Just east of the exit 15cloverleafis I-393's exit 1 to Fort Eddy Road. This exit provides access toNHTI – Concord's Community College,which is home to theMcAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center,an air and space science center. I-393 crosses theMerrimack Riverand continues east to exit 2, connecting to New Hampshire's State Office Park East and the area known locally as the Concord Heights via East Side Drive (NH 132). Further east is exit 3, I-393's last, toNH 106,which runs south past the commercial area around theSteeplegate Mall,and north toNew Hampshire Motor Speedwayand theLaconiaregion. After exit 3, the road turns northward, crossing theSoucook Riverinto Pembroke. Beyond the bridge, I-393 ends and US 4 and US 202 merge down to a single lane before joiningNH 9and continuing eastward.

History

When I-393 was first completedc. 1979,it ended at an at-grade intersection withNH 9andNH 106just west of where exit 3 now stands. Exit 3 and the extension beyond were completed in the late 1980s.

A feasibility study conducted in the 1980s proposed a number of alignments that would have extended I-393 beyond its eastern terminus to a new interchange (exit 10) on theSpaulding TurnpikebetweenDoverandRochester.This project studied the possibility of creating an east–west highway betweenPortsmouthandConcord.After much work, it was deemed impossible and an upgrade ofUS 4,a road which closely follows the route of the first New Hampshire turnpike from the early 1800s, was studied and completed.

The intersection of Commercial Street andUS 202used to be a four-way crossing, but, in recent years,Jersey barriershave been installed and a short bypass under US 202 has been constructed to prevent traffic from crossing the freeway, although the traffic lights remain. The lights on the westbound side have since been modified to become warning lights for the traffic signal at the intersection withUS 3.

Exit list

The entire route is inMerrimack County.

Location	mi	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Concord	0.000	0.000	–	US 202west toUS 3(North Main Street) – Downtown	Western terminus; western end of US 202 concurrency
			–	I-93/US 4west toI-89north –Manchester,Lebanon,Plymouth	Western end of US 4 concurrency; exit 15 on I-93
	0.257	0.414	1	Fort Eddy Road –NHTI Community College
	0.552	0.888	Veterans Memorial Bridge over theMerrimack River
	1.317	2.120	2	NH 132(East Side Drive)
	3.144	5.060	3	NH 106–Laconia,Pembroke
Pembroke	4.594	7.393	–	US 4east /US 202east /NH 9east	Eastern terminus; eastern end of US 4/US 202 concurrency
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Concurrencyterminus

I-393 looking westbound, approaching exit 1 and I-93

References

Template:Attached KML/Interstate 393

KML is from Wikidata