New Hampshire Route 18

New Hampshire Route 18 is a 20.116-mile-long (32.374 km) state highway in northwestern New Hampshire. It is a local road serving Franconia, Bethlehem, and Littleton, New Hampshire, which I-93 bypasses. Its northern extension, Vermont Route 18, continues northward from the Connecticut River to St. Johnsbury, Vermont. NH 18 closely parallels I-93 for its entire length and has several interchanges with the Interstate highway.

New Hampshire Route 18
Map of Grafton County in northwestern New Hampshire with NH 18 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by NHDOT
Length20.116 mi[1] (32.374 km)
Existed1922–present
Major junctions
South end I-93 / US 3 in Franconia
 
North end VT 18 in Waterford, VT
Location
CountiesGrafton
Highway system
NH 16B NH 25
Route 17N.E. Route 20

Route description

NH 18 begins as a spur of I-93 (the Franconia Notch Parkway) at the height of land in Franconia Notch. (U.S. Route 3 is overlapped with I-93 on the Parkway.) NH 18 proceeds to the northwest, intersecting NH 141 and NH 142, near its interchange with I-93. In downtown Franconia, NH 18 joins with NH 116 and meets the eastern end of NH 117 before leaving town and crossing into Bethlehem. NH 18 has two interchanges with I-93 in Bethlehem, joining U.S. Route 302 westbound at the second one (US 302 east provides access to downtown). The highway crosses into Littleton, splitting with NH 116 in the center of town. Just west of downtown, US 302 splits from NH 18 as well. (This intersection is signed as the northern terminus of NH 10, although this designation officially ends much further south.) Northwest of town, NH 18 joins NH 135 near another interchange with I-93. The two routes have a direct interchange with I-93 near the Connecticut River at exit 44 (I-93's last exit in New Hampshire). NH 135 splits off NH 18 before it crosses the river into Vermont (along with I-93 to its west) and becomes VT 18.

History

Route 18 was originally part of the Theodore Roosevelt International Highway, a transcontinental auto trail organized in 1919 running from Portland, Oregon, to Portland, Maine, via Ontario.[2] Within New Hampshire, the Roosevelt Highway ran 60 miles (97 km) from Littleton to Conway using modern New Hampshire Route 18 from the Connecticut River to downtown Littleton, then modern U.S. Route 302 from Littleton to the Maine line.[3]

In 1922, the New England states adopted the New England road marking system, assigning route numbers to the main through routes in the region.[4] The Roosevelt Highway routing in New Hampshire was assigned New England Route 18.[5] In 1926, the New England road marking system was supplanted by the national United States Numbered Highway System. Route 18 was transferred to state highway systems in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.

In 1935, U.S. Route 302 was designated between Montpelier, Vermont and Portland, Maine, utilizing Route 18 east of Littleton to Portland. As a result, Route 18 was truncated on the overlapped roadways and later extended along other roads to Franconia.

Junction list

The entire route is in Grafton County. [1][6]

Location[1][6]mi[1][6]kmDestinationsNotes
Franconia0.000–
0.053
0.000–
0.085
I-93 / US 3 (Franconia Notch Parkway)Southern terminus; Exit 34C on I-93
2.8044.513 NH 141 (Butterhill Road) Twin MountainWestern terminus of NH 141
4.0706.550 NH 142 (Forest Hill Road) to I-93 south BethlehemSouthern terminus of NH 142
4.8257.765 NH 116 south (Easton Road) Easton, Littleton, Plymouth
Wallace Hill Road to I-93
Southern end of concurrency with NH 116; Exit 38 on I-93
5.3008.530 NH 117 (Sugar Hill Road) Sugar HillEastern terminus of NH 117
Bethlehem7.533–
7.719
12.123–
12.423
I-93 north (Styles Bridges Highway) LittletonExit 39 on I-93
9.52515.329 I-93 (Styles Bridges Highway) / US 302 east (Main Street) Bethlehem, Littleton, St. Johnsbury, VT, Franconia, PlymouthSouthern end of concurrency with US 302; Exit 40 on I-93
Littleton11.82619.032 NH 116 north (Union Street) Whitefield, BerlinNorthern end of concurrency with NH 116
12.38219.927 US 302 west (Meadow Street) to I-93 Lisbon, Woodsville
Also signed as NH 10 south.
Northern end of concurrency with US 302
14.01622.557 NH 135 north (North Littleton Road) DaltonSouthern end of wrong-way concurrency with NH 135
18.722–
19.042
30.130–
30.645
I-93 (Styles Bridges Highway) Littleton, Plymouth, St. Johnsbury, VTExit 44 on I-93
19.83131.915 NH 135 south (Monroe Road) Woodsville, MonroeNorthern end of wrong-way concurrency with NH 135
20.11632.374 VT 18 WaterfordContinuation into Vermont
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

Road names along route

NH 18 near its southern terminus, departing Interstate 93 in Franconia Notch

NH Route 18 uses the following local road names:

Franconia
  • Profile Road
  • Main Street
Bethlehem
  • Profile Road/Old Franconia Road
  • Main Street/Dartmouth College Road
Littleton
  • Bethlehem Road
  • Cottage Street
  • Main Street
  • St. Johnsbury Road

References

  1. Bureau of Planning & Community Assistance (February 20, 2015). "NH Public Roads". Concord, New Hampshire: New Hampshire Department of Transportation. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
  2. Max J. Skidmore, Moose Crossing: Portland to Portland on the Theodore Roosevelt International Highway, Hamilton Books, 2006, ISBN 0-7618-3510-5
  3. Automobile Legal Association Green Book, 1925 edition (Scarborough Motor Guide Co., Boston, 1925). A route log of the New England Inter-state routes is included in the book showing rough mileage.
  4. Motor Sign Uniformity, New York Times, April 16, 1922
  5. Official Automobile Blue Book, Vol. 1, 1926 edition, (Automobile Blue Books Inc., Chicago, 1926). Map indicated the routing of the Theodore Roosevelt International Highway by "T" markers along the route.
  6. Bureau of Planning & Community Assistance (April 3, 2015). "Nodal Reference 2015, State of New Hampshire". New Hampshire Department of Transportation. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
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