New Hampshire Route 9

New Hampshire Route 9A
New Hampshire Route 9A
Location	Chesterfield
Length	2.320 mi (3.734 km)

New Hampshire Route 9
New Hampshire Route 9
	Map of southern New Hampshire with NH 9 highlighted in red and NH 9A in blue
Route information
	Maintained by NHDOT
Length	109.910 mi (176.883 km)
Existed	1925–present
Major junctions
West end	VT 9 in Brattleboro, VT
	NH 10 / NH 12 / NH 101 in Keene; US 202 in Hillsborough; I-89 in Hopkinton; US 3 / US 202 in Concord; I-93 in Concord; I-393 / US 4 / US 202 in Pembroke; US 4 / NH 43 in Northwood; US 202 in Barrington; Spaulding Turnpike / NH 16 in Dover; NH 4 / NH 108 in Dover;
East end	SR 9 in Berwick, ME
Location
Country	United States
State	New Hampshire
Counties	Cheshire, Hillsborough, Merrimack, Rockingham, Strafford
Highway system
	New Hampshire Highway System; Interstate; US; State; Turnpikes;

New Hampshire Route 9 (abbreviated NH 9 and also known as the Franklin Pierce Highway^[2]) is a 109.910-mile-long (176.883 km) state highway located in southern New Hampshire. It runs across the state from west to east and is a multi-state route with Vermont and Maine, part of 1920s-era New England Interstate Route 9.

The western terminus of NH 9 is at the Vermont state line in Chesterfield, where it connects to Vermont Route 9. Its eastern terminus is at the Maine state line in Somersworth, where it connects to Maine State Route 9.

Two large sections of NH 9, totaling 44.438 miles (71.516 km), are cosigned with U.S. Route 202. By combined mileage of the two sections, US 202 and NH 9 share the longest concurrency in New Hampshire.

Route description

Straight-line map of NH 9 indicating the communities it passes through

Chesterfield to Concord

NH 9 westbound near West Chesterfield

NH 9 begins in the west where VT 9 crosses the Connecticut River from Brattleboro, Vermont, into Chesterfield, New Hampshire on the United States Navy Seabees Bridge. The highway meanders its way through the large town (by area) en route to Keene, home of Keene State College. NH 9 enters the southern part of the city and intersects with the triplex of NH 10, NH 12, and NH 101, the latter of which has its western terminus here. NH 9 joins NH 10 and NH 12, bypassing downtown Keene to the west. After about a mile, NH 12 splits off to the northwest. Two miles later, NH 10 follows suit and NH 9 continues northeast, crossing through parts of Roxbury, Sullivan, and Nelson en route to Stoddard, where NH 9 intersects with NH 123. The two routes overlap for about a mile before NH 123 splits northwest, while NH 9 continues east. The highway passes along the northern edge of Antrim, intersecting and overlapping with NH 31. The two routes cross into the town of Hillsborough, where NH 31 splits off to the northwest and NH 9 becomes a semi-limited access highway (not quite up to super-two standards due to a number of at-grade intersections). One mile (1.6 km) to the east, NH 9 interchanges with US 202 and the two routes form the first of two lengthy concurrencies. US 202 and NH 9 bypass downtown Hillsborough to the north, as well as the neighboring town of Henniker, before entering Hopkinton. US 202 and NH 9 intersect NH 127 near the town line and continue east to one of two partial interchanges with I-89. The first interchange allows the following movements: US 202/NH 9 east to I-89 south, US 202/NH 9 west to I-89 north, I-89 north to US 202/NH 9 west, and I-89 south to both directions of US 202/NH 9. The highway continues into town, intersecting the southern terminus of NH 103 (a secondary highway paralleling I-89 north) before intersecting I-89 again, with southbound-only access to the Interstate highway. US 202 and NH 9 enter the city of Concord from the west and roughly parallel I-89 until reaching downtown. The two highways intersect the northern terminus of NH 13 before meeting US 3 downtown. US 202 and NH 9 turn north onto US 3 for about six blocks before NH 9 turns east onto Loudon Road, intersecting with I-93 (US 202 continues along US 3 to meet I-393 just to the north). NH 9 runs as Loudon Road parallel to I-393 (which also carries US 4 and US 202), with access possible via NH 132 (East Side Drive) and NH 106 (Sheep Davis Road - NH 106 is also the route to New Hampshire Motor Speedway, which lies 9.5 miles (15 km) to the north). NH 9 crosses underneath I-393 and enters the extreme northern tip of Pembroke.

Pembroke to Somersworth

Upon crossing into Pembroke, I-393 ends and merges with NH 9. US 202 rejoins NH 9 at this point, as does US 4, and the triplex of routes immediately crosses into Chichester, followed by Epsom. The highway intersects with NH 28 at the Epsom Traffic Circle and continues eastward. Just feet before crossing into Northwood, NH 107 intersects with US 4, US 202, and NH 9, forming a four-route concurrency. After two miles, NH 107 splits off to the north while US 4, US 202, and NH 9 continue into Northwood. In the eastern part of town, the highway reaches an intersection with NH 43. At this intersection, US 202 and NH 9 split off US 4 towards Rochester, with US 4 continuing southeast towards Durham and Portsmouth. US 202 and NH 9 meet the western terminus of NH 202A (an alternate of US 202 toward Rochester), nick the extreme northwestern corner of Nottingham, and enter Barrington. In Barrington, US 202 and NH 9 split again; US 202 heads northeast towards Rochester, and NH 9 turns southeast, crossing NH 125 en route to Dover. NH 9 enters Dover from the southwest and intersects the northern terminus of NH 155, then turns northeast and immediately interchanges with the Spaulding Turnpike (NH 16) at exit 8. NH 9 continues into the heart of Dover as Silver Street and meets up with NH 108 (Central Avenue). NH 4 has its western terminus here. NH 9 and NH 108 traverse downtown Dover, with NH 4 splitting off towards Rollinsford along the way. The two routes split at the end of Central Avenue, north of downtown. Access to the Spaulding Turnpike exit 9 is available at this intersection NH 9 turns northeast and enters Somersworth. The road continues towards the Salmon Falls River at the heart of the city and intersects NH 236. NH 9 and NH 236 are cosigned along High and Market Streets in the downtown area. NH 9 crosses the Salmon Falls River into Berwick, Maine, and becomes Maine State Route 9. NH 236 ends at the border and is not directly connected to Maine State Route 236, but the two are linked via SR 9.

History

New England Interstate Routes

Modern NH 9 was originally conceived as part of the New England Interstate system. It was first designated as New England Interstate Route 9 (NEI 9) in 1922, a designation which covered all of modern Vermont Route 9, NH 9, and Maine State Route 9 as far as Wells (SR 9 was extended in 1934), a distance of 167 miles (269 km). The New England Interstate system declined in the mid-1920s in favor of the modern U.S. Numbered Highways and all of NEI 9 was redesignated as state highways bearing the number 9. The three modern state routes now form one of the longest highways in New England to retain a single number, stretching from the New York state border in Bennington, Vermont to the Canadian border in Calais, Maine, a total distance of 447.3 miles (719.9 km).

The section of NH 9 cosigned with US 202 between Hillsborough and Henniker is part of former New England Interstate Route 32. NEI 32 was superseded in the mid-1930s by US 202 west of Henniker, and by sections of modern NH 114 and NH 103 north of Henniker. The section between Henniker and Hopkinton is concurrent with part of former New England Interstate Route 32A. NEI 32A, as originally designated, split from NEI 32 in Henniker (where modern NH 114 interchanges with US 202/NH 9) east along modern US 202/NH 9 to Hopkinton, then northwest along modern NH 103 to Mount Sunapee, then north along modern NH 103B to terminate at NEI 11 (modern NH 11).

Junction list

County	Location^[1]^[3]	mi^[1]^[3]	km	Destinations	Notes
Cheshire	Chesterfield	0.000	0.000	VT 9 west (Chesterfield Road) – Brattleboro	Continuation from Vermont
		5.400	8.690	NH 63 – Westmoreland, Chesterfield
		5.956	9.585	NH 9A east (South Shore Road) – Spofford	Western terminus of NH 9A
		8.096	13.029	NH 9A west – Spofford	Eastern terminus of NH 9A
	Keene	14.394	23.165	NH 10 south / NH 12 south / NH 101 east – Peterborough, Winchester	Western end of concurrency with NH 10 / NH 12; western terminus of NH 101
		15.139	24.364	West Street - Keene	Interchange
		15.594	25.096	NH 12 north – Walpole	Interchange; eastern end of concurrency with NH 12
		18.335	29.507	NH 10 north – Gilsum, Newport	Eastern end of concurrency with NH 10
	Nelson	24.901	40.074	Granite Lake Road – Nelson, Harrisville	Interchange
	Stoddard	30.449	49.003	NH 123 south – Hancock, Peterborough	Western end of concurrency with NH 123
	Stoddard	31.569	50.805	NH 123 north – Stoddard, Marlow	Eastern end of concurrency with NH 123
Hillsborough	Antrim	37.552	60.434	NH 31 south (Clinton Road) – Antrim	Western end of concurrency with NH 31
	Hillsborough	41.254	66.392	NH 31 north (2nd New Hampshire Turnpike) – Hillsborough Upper Village, Washington	Eastern end of concurrency with NH 31
		43.302	69.688	US 202 west (Antrim Road) to NH 149 – Hillsborough, Peterborough	Interchange; western end of concurrency with US 202
		45.255	72.831	Henniker Street to West Main Street – Hillsborough	Interchange
Merrimack	Henniker	49.550	79.743	NH 114 (Bradford Road/Maple Street) – Henniker, Bradford	Interchange
	Hopkinton	53.701	86.423	NH 127 north (Maple Street) – West Hopkinton, Contoocook	Southern terminus of NH 127
		54.150	87.146	Hatfield Road / Country Club Road	Interchange
		56.939– 57.610	91.634– 92.714	I-89 to I-93 / US 4 – Concord, Seacoast, Contoocook, Warner, Lebanon	Exit 5 on I-89; no westbound exit to I-89 south; no eastbound entrance from I-89 north
		58.520	94.179	NH 103 west (Hopkinton Road) – Contoocook, Warner	Eastern terminus of NH 103
		59.316	95.460	I-89 south – Bow	Exit 4 on I-89; no exit to I-89 north; no entrance from I-89 south
	Concord	65.835	105.951	NH 13 south (South Street)	Northern terminus of NH 13
		65.996	106.210	US 3 south (South Main Street)	Western end of concurrency with US 3
		66.291	106.685	US 3 north / US 202 east (North Main Street)	Eastern end of concurrency with US 3 / US 202
		66.463– 66.552	106.962– 107.105	I-93 (Everett Turnpike/Styles Bridges Highway) to I-89 / I-393 – Manchester, Lebanon, Plymouth, Portsmouth	Exit 14 on I-93; northern terminus of Everett Turnpike
		67.997	109.431	NH 132 north (East Side Drive)	Southern terminus of NH 132
		70.140	112.879	NH 106 (Sheep Davis Road) to I-393 – Loudon, Pembroke
	Pembroke	71.319	114.777	I-393 / US 4 / US 202 west to I-93 / I-89 – Concord	Eastern terminus of I-393; westbound exit and eastbound entrance; western end of concurrency with US 4 / US 202
	Epsom	76.399	122.952	NH 28 (Suncook Valley Highway) – Pittsfield, Allenstown	Epsom Traffic Circle
	Epsom	80.059	128.842	NH 107 south (North Road) – Deerfield, Raymond	Western end of concurrency with NH 107
Rockingham	Northwood	81.968	131.915	NH 107 north (School Street) – Pittsfield	Eastern end of concurrency with NH 107
		87.812	141.320	US 4 east (1st New Hampshire Turnpike) – Lee, Durham, Portsmouth NH 43 south (Mountain Avenue) – Deerfield, Candia	Eastern end of concurrency with US 4; northern terminus of NH 43
		88.161	141.881	NH 202A east (Strafford Road) – Bow Lake, Strafford	Western terminus of NH 202A
Strafford	Barrington	92.768	149.296	US 202 east – Rochester	Eastern end of concurrency with US 202
		94.073	151.396	NH 126 west (Church Street) – Center Strafford, Barnstead	Eastern terminus of NH 126
		96.803	155.789	NH 125 (Calef Highway) – Rochester, Epping
	Dover	102.742	165.347	NH 155 south (Knox Marsh Road) – Madbury, Durham	Northern terminus of NH 155
		102.804– 103.241	165.447– 166.150	Spaulding Turnpike / NH 16 – Portsmouth, Somersworth, Rochester	Exit 8 on Spaulding Turnpike
		103.918	167.240	NH 108 south (Central Avenue) NH 4 begins	Western end of concurrency with NH 4 / NH 108; western terminus of NH 4
		104.446	168.090	NH 4 east (Portland Avenue) – Rollinsford	Eastern end of concurrency with NH 4
		106.620	171.588	NH 108 north (New Rochester Road) – Rochester Indian Brook Drive to NH 16 / Spaulding Turnpike / Sixth Street	Eastern end of concurrency with NH 108
	Somersworth	109.392	176.049	NH 236 west (West High Street) – Rochester	Western end of concurrency with NH 236
	Somersworth	109.910	176.883	SR 9 east to SR 236 – Berwick NH 236 ends	Continuation into Maine; eastern terminus of NH 236
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Concurrency terminus Incomplete access

Suffixed routes