The state is short about $400 million for transportation projects, so officials are tapping the brakes on Everett Turnpike work between Nashua and Bedford.
Officials are also considering raising tolls.
Moreover, they were forced to go back to the drawing board for extending Interstate 93 through Bow and Concord and improving the I-293 exits in Manchester.
Tobey Reynolds, assistant director of the state Department of Transportation’s (DOT) project development office, said they need to space out widening the Everett Turnpike to prevent work from outpacing available funds.
“To continue the construction of Nashua-Merrimack-Bedford, (we need) to delay the completion of it,” Reynolds said. “We need to spread out the spending over more of the Ten-Year Plan so that we can complete that project.”
In the latest draft Ten-Year Plan (TYP), construction work that will widen two-lane sections in Merrimack was extended over eight years from 2027 to 2034. Another two-lane extension from Exit 8 in Nashua to Exit 10 in Merrimack was scheduled for 2027.
Since the state isn’t generating enough money to cover projects the DOT considers necessary, Reynolds said they’re looking for ways to bring in more money. The turnpike system is supported by toll collections, so the answer might be raising the tolls.
Reynolds has been sharing that proposal in public hearings on the draft Ten-Year Plan (TYP), an overview of state and federally funded transportation projects that’s updated every two years.
Reynolds was in Bedford on Tuesday night with Southern New Hampshire Planning Commission (SNHPC) Executive Director Nate Miller and the district’s executive councilor, John Stephen.
Costs are rising due to escalation and inflation, Reynolds said, and revenue sources aren’t keeping up. The state needs to pay off a loan for work on I-93, and TYP documents show federal aid trending downwards over this period.
And as Stephen explained previously, the state’s gas tax of 4.2 cents per gallon will be reduced as the bond for I-93 work is paid off. Stephen said people are driving less in general since the pandemic. Electric vehicle users don’t need to buy gas, and their vehicles are heavier due to their battery packs, which put more strain on roads.
Based on projections, the TYP is “overprogammed” by approximately $400 million, according to the DOT’s presentation. Reynolds said they’ve responded by delaying or removing $300 million of projects and not adding any new ones for the 2035-2036 fiscal year.
This also meant that none of the SNHPC’s six “regional priority” projects could be added to the plan, including roadway improvements for New Boston.
Improvements to the Route 3 corridor in Bedford —also known as South River Road — were also delayed, with the start of construction pushed back from 2027 to 2030.
“It has been a Ten-Year Plan of difficult choices around the state,” Miller said. “The stagnant revenue in the face of construction cost inflation, the I-93 debt service consuming more of the state SB367 gas tax funding, the turnpike situation with operating costs increasing faster than revenue — all of those played into (those choices).”
And in addition to Everett Turnpike delays, the DOT needed to scrap their plans for two other big projects: expanding I-93 through Bow and Concord and improving two exits on I-293 in Manchester. Reynolds said they can’t afford the projects at their current revenue levels.
“What we’ve heard in past plans is that those projects are needed,” Reynolds said. “There’s a lot of safety improvements in Bow-Concord and especially Exits 6 and 7 (in Manchester) that are really needed to bring those corridors into current design standards.”
“We also feel like the transportation system of the state needs these projects, just to keep traffic moving south to north, keep the economy healthy and moving.”
Reynolds said the DOT plans to go through the public hearing process on these projects again with new, less expensive designs, and they are seeking feedback on a $1 toll increase at all the major plazas in Hampton, Bedford, and Hooksett.
He said this would not only allow the state to expand I-93 and improve the I-293 exits but also make safety improvements on I-95 in Hampton, plus introduce a way for highway abutters to petition the state for noise barriers.
While making the case for raising the tolls, Reynolds noted the last systemwide toll increase in the state occurred in 2007. And in the intervening years, ramp tolls in Bedford and Merrimack were removed.
Of 32 states with toll authorities, Reynolds said New Hampshire currently has the lowest toll rate per mile. He said the proposed $1 increase would leave them with the 26th lowest toll rate per mile.
At least one other group seemed to be in favor of raising the tolls — contractors. During the public comment period at the Bedford hearing, self-identified contractors with local businesses Evroks Corporation, Continental Paving, and Pike Industries advocated for higher tolls to facilitate the road work.
“It does trickle down,” contractor Mike Ferrari of Bedford said.
Another contractor, Amy Charbonneau of Londonderry, suggested parallel legislation could be introduced to discount tolls for New Hampshire residents, so the toll hike would apply to out-of-staters.
The draft 2027-2036 TYP, an online comment form, and hearing dates are all available on the DOT website.
Although the DOT cut and delayed projects to save money, some spending was unavoidable. For example, the Bow-Concord turnpike project involved replacing some “red list” bridges — bridges that require yearly inspections because they’re in poor condition.
By putting off the Bow-Concord project, the DOT cut an item with a projected $370 million cost. But those bridges still needed to be addressed. Reynolds said they had to add $75 million back into the TYP for bridge rehabilitation and preservation along these parts of I-93.
A good number of nonmotorized transportation projects were funded, however, through Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) grant awards. Approximately $33 million in TAP grants were awarded this cycle, up from $25.1 million in the last grant round.
SNHPC’s Miller noted that despite high local interest, an application for TAP funding to build a pedestrian-bicycle bridge over the Piscataquog River in downtown Goffstown didn’t make the cut for this cycle.