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Some Facts About New Hampshire’s Infrastructure:New Hampshire has approximately 17,000 miles of state and town roads, turnpikes and interstate highways. There are 3,795 bridges in the state. As of 2010, the New Hampshire Department of Transportation plowed more than 800 lane miles of roads and put down 180,000 tons of salt for snow and ice control annually.The state was given a “C” grade by the American Society of Civil Engineers for the condition of its roads and bridges. New Hampshire was rated among the worst in the country for the poor condition of its bridges by Transportation For America. On average, bridges are older in New Hampshire than those in the rest of the country. There are hundreds of bridges on the so-called “red list,” which means that the bridges have major structural problems and need to be repaired or replaced.The state also has a poor record when it comes to public transportation. New Hampshire has no comprehensive rail system and is rated 42nd in terms of investment in public transportation according to the State Department of Transportation.The majority of New Hampshire’s infrastructure funding comes from vehicle registration fees and gas taxes. The state takes out fewer bond loans than other states and considers its funding a “pay as you go” system. The gas tax, the lowest in New England, has not been raised since 1991. The 2011 Legislature did away with a motor vehicle fee increase. That change has meant more $30 million a year in cuts to DOT.The $800 million expansion of I-93 from Salem to Manchester began in 2006, but has been delayed several times because of a lack of funding. Supporters of the expansion say it will update one of the country’s most congested highways and bring needed tourism revenue to the more isolated and less economically robust northern part of the state. Traffic on I-93 has increased 600 percent since the highway was built in the 1960s and approximately 80,000 cars now drive on it each day.Summary provided by StateImpact NH

NASCAR Is Back In New Hampshire; Heavy Traffic To Follow

Logan Shannon
/
NHPR

It's NASCAR weekend in New Hampshire, and the state is expecting an influx of race fans over the weekend.

Over 100,000 people and more than 37,000 vehicles will head to New Hampshire International Speedway for Sunday afternoon's New Hampshire 301 stock car race, part of NASCAR's Sprint Cup series.

That means heavy traffic along route 106 as well as Interstates 93 and 393, especially after the event.

To accommodate the traffic the state has, in the past, turned some northbound stretches of I-93 into temporary southbound lanes.

But Bill Boynton of the Department of Transportation says thanks to recent road improvements, that won't be necessary this year.

"We're going to be able to go with three lanes southbound, all on the southbound side, using the southbound shoulder," Boynton says. "That should be more efficient; it should be safer."

One driver that won't come through Loudon this weekend is Dale Earnhardt Jr.

The NASCAR star has withdrawn from the race after experiencing "concussion-like symptoms."  

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