Governor John Lynch got a first hand look at two major projects on the Spaulding Turnpike in Southern New Hampshire.
The Governor personally toured the expansion projects now underway on the pike on the Northern end in Rochester, and the Southern end between Newington and Portsmouth. The widening projects are intended to relieve traffic congestion on both ends of the Spaulding, especially at the Little Bay Bridge over Great Bay.
“Right now, at 3:30, 4:00 in the afternoon, these roads turn into parking lots, and certainly that's been characteristic of the Spaulding Turnpike.”
The Little Bay Bridge expansion will double the width of the span from 4 to 8 lanes, with a completion date of 2016. The widening of the pike between exit 12 and 16 in Rochester is expected to be finished by 2013. The nearly $200 million dollar projects will be paid for by existing state highway funds and toll increases.