This story was originally produced by the Portsmouth Herald. NHPR is republishing it in partnership with the Granite State News Collaborative.
Median guardrail installation along the Seacoast stretch of Interstate 95 has begun in an effort to reduce fatal highway crashes.
The $4.6 million project, approved last summer by the New Hampshire Executive Council, is underway following a series of severe — and sometimes fatal — crashes in the region two years ago. A five-mile portion of I-95 will be outfitted with the median barrier to save lives and prevent head-on collisions.
Five people were killed in I-95 wrecks in New Hampshire in 2024, three of which occurred during a brief period that fall. In several instances, drivers lost control of their vehicles and careened over the grass median directly into oncoming traffic.
“Over the next couple of weeks, crews will focus on completing guardrail installation in the northbound median,” Jennifer Lane, spokesperson for the New Hampshire Department of Transportation, wrote in a statement. “Once that work is finished, operations will shift back to mostly daytime hours, followed by continued median preparation and barrier installation in the southbound direction. This work will require shoulder closures in the southbound lanes.”
Read more of this Seacoast Online story here.
Traffic will be impacted for several months. The project is expected to be completed in September.
