Interstate 393 (abbreviated
I-393) is a spur extending east from
Interstate 93 at
Concord,
New Hampshire,
USA. The primary purpose of the road is to bypass a densely-built commercial strip on
Route 9 in the eastern part of Concord. Several times a year, I-393 also serves traffic to events at
New Hampshire Motor Speedway in
Loudon. The entire length of I-393 overlaps
US 4 and
US 202.
Route description
Interstate 393 begins at
I-93's exit 15 interchange, where
US 4 East leaves its
concurrency with I-93 South and the I-393/US 4/
US 202 concurrency 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 from
US 3. From there the road then intersects Commercial Street just before the exit 15 interchange. Just east of the exit 15
cloverleaf is I-393's exit 1 to Fort Eddy Road. This exit provides access to the
New Hampshire Technical Institute, which is home to the
Christa McAuliffe Planetarium. I-393 crosses the
Merrimack River and 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, which links to the commercial area around the Steeplegate Mall to the south via
NH 9 and
New Hampshire International Speedway and the
Laconia region to the north via
NH 106. After exit 3, the road turns northward, crossing the
Soucook River. Beyond the bridge, I-393 ends and US 4 and US 202 merge down to a single lane before joining
NH 9 and continuing eastward.
History
- When I-393 was first completed circa 1979, it ended at an at-grade intersection with NH 9 and NH 106 just west of where exit 3 now stands. Exit 3 and the extension beyond were completed in the late 1980s.
- The intersection of Commercial Street and US 202 used to be a four-way crossing, but in recent years Jersey barriers have been installed and a short bypass under US 202 has been constructed to prevent traffic from crossing the freeway, although the traffic lights remain.
Exit list
