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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

Expansion of Interstate 93 Threatened

New Hampshire's newly-appointed Transportation Commissioner says without federal matching funds, the I-93 expansion and other major road projects are at risk.

Chris Clement has had a lot to deal with in the five weeks since first taking office.

First state legislators made major reductions in his budget and now Congress wants to cut their contribution by more than $50 million.

Clement says without the money from Washington, there will be no more expansion work of I-93.

"I-93 is the road paved with gold," says Clement. "Once that road is finished we get people from Massachusetts and from the south to come up into our beautiful state and enjoy it and not sit in traffic jams."

But federal funding cuts threaten easy traveling. "If we get that cut we can't move forward with any additional projects on I-93," says Clement.

Clement says lawmakers need to find the money for all the state's major road projects, including the 148 so-called "red-listed" bridges in need of repair.

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