New Hampshire Route 16

New Hampshire Route 16
Map of New Hampshire with NH 16 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by NHDOT
Length	154.771 mi[1] (249.080 km)
Existed	1922 (as New England Route 16)–present
Major junctions
South end	I-95 / US 1 Byp. in Portsmouth
Major intersections	US 4 in Dover US 202 in Rochester NH 25 in Ossipee US 302 in Conway US 2 in Gorham NH 26 in Errol
North end	SR 16 in Magalloway, ME[2]
Location
Country	United States
State	New Hampshire
Counties	Rockingham, Strafford, Carroll, Coos
Highway system
New Hampshire Highway System Interstate US State Turnpikes
← NH 13 → NH 18
← Route 15 N.E. → Route 17

New Hampshire Route 16 (NH 16) is a 154.771-mile (249.080 km), north–south state highway in New Hampshire, United States, the main road connecting the Seacoast region to the Lakes Region and the White Mountains. Much of its length is close to the border with Maine. The section from Portsmouth to Milton is a controlled-access toll highway known as the Spaulding Turnpike. Between Milton and Chocorua, and between Conway and Glen, it is known as the White Mountain Highway. It is known as Chocorua Mountain Highway between Chocorua and Conway and various other local names before crossing into Maine about 20 miles (32 km) south of the Canadian border. Portions of NH 16 run concurrent with U.S. Route 4 (US 4), US 202, NH 25, and US 302, and US 2.

The southern terminus of NH 16 is at the Portsmouth Traffic Circle, intersecting with Interstate 95 and the US 1 Bypass. The northern terminus is at the Maine state line near Wentworth Location, where it continues as Maine State Route 16.

There are three auxiliary routes of NH 16, two loops labeled 16A and one labeled 16B.

Route description[edit]

Portsmouth to Milton (Spaulding Turnpike)[edit]

For the section of NH 16 between Portsmouth and Milton, see the Spaulding Turnpike article.

Milton to Bartlett[edit]

From Milton, NH 16 continues north, roughly paralleling the Maine border. In Wakefield, the road takes a turn to the northwest heading towards Ossipee. NH 16 turns back to a northerly heading near Tamworth, then makes a turn eastward in Albany to reach Conway. NH 16 turns north again in Conway, entering the region known as the Mount Washington Valley, and begins a concurrency with US 302 at the south end of the village of North Conway. North of North Conway, in Bartlett, the southern NH 16A loop departs and rejoins NH 16 / US 302 before the road makes a westward hook.

Glen to Wentworth Location[edit]

In Glen, NH 16 turns north from US 302 and heads toward Jackson, where the northern NH 16A loop is located, as well as NH 16B, which is a loop that begins and ends at NH 16A. Continuing north, NH 16 passes through Pinkham Notch, to the east of Mount Washington, New Hampshire's highest peak, and intersecting with the base of the Mount Washington Auto Road. Route 16 meets US 2 in Gorham, sharing a short concurrency along Gorham's Main Street. Leaving US 2, Route 16 continues north along the Androscoggin River to the city of Berlin, then follows the river north through the towns of Milan and Dummer, and the township of Cambridge, into the town of Errol. From Errol NH 16 continues northeast to Wentworth Location and the Maine border. After crossing the border the road becomes Maine State Route 16 and heads east toward Rangeley.

History[edit]

From 1922 until 1926, most of the original surface alignment of NH 16 from Portsmouth to the intersection with NH 26 in Errol was known as New England Interstate Route 16,^[3] the "East Side Road".^[4] In 1926, the New England road marking system was superseded by the system of United States Numbered Highways, and many of the New England Routes, including NH 16, became state highways with the same number.

NH 16 formerly served as a non-tolled alternative to the Spaulding Turnpike between Dover and Rochester. In the early 1990s, NHDOT rerouted NH 16 onto the turnpike as a concurrency for the full length of the turnpike. The old alignment is now made up of several different roads. After crossing the Little Bay Bridge (or, prior to 1966, the General Sullivan Bridge) northbound from Newington to Dover, historic NH 16 traveled along Dover Point Road into downtown Dover to an intersection with NH 108, where that route used to terminate. NH 16 continued along Central Avenue north through Somersworth and into Rochester on what is now the northern stretch of NH 108. In Rochester, NH 16 used the present alignment of NH 125 through downtown and north into Milton where it met the current alignment north of the Turnpike.

After NH 16 was rerouted, the section between downtown Dover and NH 125 in Rochester became a northward extension of NH 108. From downtown Rochester the alignment to Milton is now part of NH 125. Between the Rochester/Milton town line and the northern terminus of the Spaulding Turnpike, NH 125 carries the White Mountain Highway moniker.

The Conway Bypass is a proposed re-routing of NH 16 around Conway and North Conway. While preliminary work has been done, the bypass is still in planning stages.

Junction list[edit]

County	Location[1][5]	mi[1][5]	km	Destinations	Notes
Strafford	Milton	33.259	53.525	Spaulding Turnpike south / NH 16 south – Rochester, Portsmouth	Northern terminus of Spaulding Turnpike
Carroll	Wakefield	34.763	55.946	NH 125 south / NH 153 (Main Street / Wakefield Road) – Union, Sanbornville	Northern terminus of NH 125
		38.608	62.134	NH 109 (Wentworth Road / Meadow Street) to NH 153 – Brookfield, Wolfeboro, Sanbornville
	Ossipee	48.816	78.562	NH 171 west (Old Granite Road) – Ossipee, Tuftonboro	Eastern terminus of NH 171
		50.477	81.235	NH 28 south – Ossipee, Wolfeboro	Northern terminus of NH 28
		54.678	87.996	NH 25 east – Center Ossipee, Portland, ME	Interchange; southern end of concurrency with NH 25
		60.297	97.039	NH 25 west (Ossipee Mountain Highway) to I-93 – Moultonboro, Meredith	Northern end of NH 25 concurrency
		60.557	97.457	NH 41 north (Plains Road) – Silver Lake, Madison	Southern terminus of NH 41
	Tamworth	64.549	103.882	NH 113 (Deer Hill Road) – Tamworth, Madison
	Albany	74.436	119.793	NH 113 west – Madison	Southern end of concurrency with NH 113
	Conway	75.580	121.634	NH 112 west (Kancamagus Highway) – Lincoln, North Woodstock	Eastern terminus of NH 112
		76.333	122.846	NH 153 south (Pleasant Street) – Eaton, Effingham	Northern terminus of NH 153
		76.405	122.962	NH 113 east (East Main Street) – Center Conway, Fryeburg, ME	Northern end of concurrency with NH 113
		79.248	127.537	US 302 east (Eastman Road) – Portland, ME	Southern end of concurrency with US 302
	Bartlett	83.896	135.018	NH 16A north – Intervale	Southern terminus of NH 16A
		86.203	138.730	NH 16A south – Intervale	Northern terminus of NH 16A
		87.336	140.554	US 302 west (Crawford Notch Road) – Bartlett, Bretton Woods, Twin Mountain	Northern end of concurrency with US 302
	Jackson	89.591	144.183	NH 16A north (Main Street) to NH 16B – Jackson Village	Southern terminus of NH 16A
		90.062	144.941	NH 16A south (Village Road) to NH 16B – Jackson Village	Northern terminus of NH 16A
Coos	Gorham	109.695	176.537	US 2 east (Main Street) – Shelburne, Portland, ME	Southern end of concurrency with US 2
		111.068	178.747	US 2 west (Lancaster Road) – Lancaster	Northern end of concurrency with US 2
	Berlin	116.106	186.854	NH 110 west (Green Street) – Groveton	Eastern terminus of NH 110
	Milan	124.120	199.752	NH 110B west (Milan Hill Road) – West Milan	Eastern terminus of NH 110B
	Dummer	128.188	206.299	NH 110A west (Muzzy Hill Road) – West Milan, Groveton	Eastern terminus of NH 110A
	Errol	145.639	234.383	NH 26 west (Colebrook Road) – Dixville Notch, Colebrook	Southern end of concurrency with NH 26
		145.935	234.860	NH 26 east (Upton Road) – Upton, ME	Northern end of concurrency with NH 26
	Wentworth Location	154.771	249.080	SR 16 east (Wilsons Mills Road) – Rangeley	Continuation into Maine
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus

Suffixed routes[edit]

New Hampshire Route 16A[edit]

New Hampshire Route 16A is a designation held by two separate state highways in New Hampshire. Although not directly connected, the two routes are linked by their parent route, New Hampshire Route 16.

Southern segment[edit]

The southern segment of NH 16A is a loop road, known locally as the Intervale Resort Loop, entirely in the town of Bartlett. It splits off from U.S. Route 302 and NH 16, runs parallel to the highway for 2.484 miles (3.998 km), then rejoins US 302 and NH 16.

Officially, this section of NH 16A is also designated U.S. Route 302 Business, but is not signed as such anywhere along the route.^[6] This is a rare instance of a hidden route in New Hampshire and is interesting in that a duplicate state numbering has been given precedence over a unique federal one.

Northern segment[edit]

The northern segment of NH 16A is a loop road in Jackson that is 1.029 miles (1.656 km) long. This road leaves NH 16, travels east to meet both the southern and northern termini of NH 16B (separated by just 500 feet (150 m)) and returns to NH 16, passing through the Wentworth Golf Club. The local name for this route is Village Road.^[6][7]

New Hampshire Route 16B[edit]

New Hampshire Route 16B is a 5.381-mile-long (8.660 km) long state highway located entirely in Jackson. Although the road is signed north–south, NH 16B is a nearly-complete loop, beginning and ending at intersections with NH 16A roughly 500 feet (150 m) apart. Heading counterclockwise on NH 16B (signed "north") from NH 16A, NH 16B is known as Black Mountain Road, Moody Farm Road, and Carter Notch Road. The entire route has also been known as Five Mile Circuit Road, in reference to its length.^[8]

In addition to its present designation, NH 16B has been assigned to several old alignments of NH 16, but those other routes are no longer officially designated as such.

In Ossipee, NH 16B was once the designation for an old alignment of NH 16 through the village of Center Ossipee that has been bypassed by the present NH 16 southwest of Ossipee Lake. The route, 2.52 miles (4.06 km) in length, is still called "Route 16B" on street blade signs.^[9][10]

Two other roads have also held the NH 16B designation. One is a local road called Old Rochester Road in Somersworth and Old Dover Road in Rochester, paralleling the Spaulding Turnpike in those two towns from NH 108 to NH 125. There is no longer any signage along the road indicating that the road was designated NH 16B.^[9][11]

The other road followed what is now NH 125 between NH 16 near Union and NH 153 in Union, as well as NH 153 from NH 125 north to NH 16 in Wakefield. The section of NH 125 in Carroll County is still shown as NH 16B on several maps.^[9][12]

See also[edit]

• List of state highways in New Hampshire
• Spaulding Turnpike

References[edit]

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to New Hampshire Route 16.

• New Hampshire State Route 16 at Flickr
• New Hampshire State Route 16A at Flickr
• New Hampshire State Truck Route 16 at Flickr