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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

N.H. Department of Transportation Says Rural Roads Need TLC

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House lawmakers met Tuesday to review a bill that seeks to provide $36 million for road and bridge repair in the state. 

There are six highway districts in New Hampshire – but not all are created equal. That was the argument from the Department of Transportation as they argued for a formula change in the way highway repair money is handed out.

William Cass, the department's Assistant Commissioner, says that under the current guidelines, southeastern districts will receive more money than rural northern and western districts. That means more money to areas with better roads, cheaper work costs and milder weather. 

"We would be paving roads that were in good condition," argued Cass, "while we were struggling in the Northern tier of the state to pave and take care of roads that were in poor, or very poor condition."

Cass suggested that lawmakers factor road condition into the distribution formula, to help them get more rural roads patched up sooner. Lawmakers will meet to vote on the amendment next week.

Hannah McCarthy first came to NHPR an intern in 2015, returned as a Fellow the following year and then bounced around as a reporter and producer before landing as co-host of Civics 101. She has reported on everything from the opioid epidemic to State House politics to haunted woods of New Hampshire.
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