The Spaulding Turnpike is a north-south

toll road A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road (almost always a controlled-access highway in the present day) for which a fee (or ''toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemented ...

in eastern

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

. Nearly its entire length is overlapped by

New Hampshire Route 16 New Hampshire Route 16 (NH 16) is a , 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. ...

. Its southern terminus is at the

Portsmouth Traffic Circle The Portsmouth Traffic Circle is a four-point rotary in the city of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Description The southern exit of the circle provides access to Interstate 95 north and south, although only northbound I-95 traffic enters here. The e ...

(

Interstate 95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1, US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between M ...

/ U.S. Route 1 Bypass) in

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

, a terminus it shares with

U.S. Route 4 U.S. Route 4 (US 4) is a long United States highway that runs from East Greenbush, New York, in the west to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in the east, traversing Vermont. In New York, US 4 is signed North-South to reflect its alignment in the s ...

and NH 16. Its northern terminus is at an interchange with

New Hampshire Route 125 New Hampshire Route 125 is a north–south state highway in Rockingham, Strafford and Carroll counties in southeastern New Hampshire. The southern terminus is in Plaistow at the Massachusetts state line, where the road continues south into Ha ...

Milton Milton may refer to: Names * Milton (surname), a surname (and list of people with that surname) ** John Milton (1608–1674), English poet * Milton (given name) ** Milton Friedman (1912–2006), Nobel laureate in Economics, author of '' Free t ...

, where NH 16 continues north as a full-access highway. The turnpike roughly parallels the

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

border. NH 16 was signed onto the Turnpike in the mid-1990s. The turnpike is part of the New Hampshire Turnpike System operated by the

New Hampshire Department of Transportation The New Hampshire Department of Transportation (NHDOT) is a government agency of the U.S. state of New Hampshire. The Commissioner of NHDOT is Victoria Sheehan. The main office of the NHDOT is located in the J. O. Morton Building in Concord. F ...

Bureau of Turnpikes. Along with I-95 between the

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

state border and the Portsmouth Circle (

Blue Star Turnpike Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when o ...

), the two turnpikes are collectively known as the Eastern Turnpike.

History

The turnpike is named for the Spaulding brothers of

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

— Rolland H. Spaulding (1873–1942) and Huntley N. Spaulding (1869–1955)—who both served as

Governor of New Hampshire The governor of New Hampshire is the head of government of New Hampshire. The governor is elected during the biennial state general election in November of even-numbered years. New Hampshire is one of only two states, along with bordering Verm ...

. It was announced in August 1952 to connect

and

at a cost of $13.5 million. Work on the first section of the turnpike, between Portsmouth and

Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...

, started in 1954, with that segment opening in September 1956. The complete (as originally planned) route between Portsmouth and Rochester opened on August 29, 1957, the same day that the

Everett Turnpike The Frederick E. Everett Turnpike, also called the Central New Hampshire Turnpike, is a toll road in the U.S. state of New Hampshire, running from the Massachusetts border at Nashua north to Concord. The Everett Turnpike is named for Frederick ...

was dedicated. In 1977, the

New Hampshire House of Representatives The New Hampshire House of Representatives is the lower house in the New Hampshire General Court, the bicameral legislature of the state of New Hampshire. The House of Representatives consists of 400 members coming from 204 legislative district ...

approved funding to extend the Spaulding Turnpike by north through

. Construction began in 1978, with the extension opening on August 20, 1981.

Route description

The Spaulding Turnpike begins in Portsmouth, at

I-95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the Canadia ...

northbound Exit 4. Access from I-95 south and

US 1 Bypass The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

is facilitated via Exit 5 (

). A northbound-only exit connects with Brady Drive, accessible only from the traffic circle. The Spaulding Turnpike becomes a six lane freeway concurrent with

US 4 U.S. Route 4 (US 4) is a long United States highway that runs from East Greenbush, New York, in the west to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in the east, traversing Vermont. In New York, US 4 is signed North-South to reflect its alignment in the s ...

and NH 16, with a speed limit. Exit 1 in Newington provides access to

Pease International Tradeport Portsmouth International Airport at Pease , formerly known as Pease International Airport, is a joint civil and military use airport located one nautical mile (2 km) west of the central business district of Portsmouth, a city in Rockingha ...

and the Newington malls. Spaulding Turnpike (Northbound)

Exit 2, a northbound-only exit/entrance which facilitated access to the

Mall at Fox Run The Mall at Fox Run, formerly Fox Run Mall, is a shopping mall in Newington, New Hampshire, just north of Portsmouth. Its main anchor stores include JCPenney, Macy's Men's & Home Store (formerly Jordan Marsh) and Macy's Women's (formerly Filene's) ...

and adjacent businesses, was closed permanently on July 19, 2015. Exit 3 is a full-access interchange with Woodbury Avenue, with a connection to Pease Tradeport via Arboretum Drive. Exit 4 provides access to Newington Village and businesses along Shattuck Way. The turnpike then crosses the Little Bay Bridge into Dover, with seven lanes (three northbound, and four southbound) for vehicles and a temporary pedestrian and bicycle path on the northbound shoulder of the bridge. Exit 5 provides access to Hilton Park and Wentworth Terrace. This exit was permanently closed when the northbound lanes were shifted onto the permanent northbound alignment of the turnpike on November 28, 2018. US 4 leaves the turnpike at Exit 6, with the Dover barrier toll located about to the north. The reconstruction of Exit 6 into a full access

diamond interchange A diamond interchange is a common type of road junction, used where a controlled-access highway crosses a minor road. Design The freeway itself is grade-separated from the minor road, one crossing the other over a bridge. Approaching the ...

between Dover and Durham was open to traffic on November 15, 2019. Before the reconstruction, there was no access from eastbound US 4 to the northbound turnpike or Dover Point Road north, nor from the southbound turnpike to Dover Point Road north. Traffic then had to utilise the Spaulding Turnpike southbound and turn around at Exit 4 in Newington in order to access the Spaulding Turnpike northbound or Dover Point Road north. North of the toll plaza, the freeway passes west of downtown Dover. Exits 7 through 9 provide local access via NH 108, NH 9 and Indian Brook Drive, respectively. A

park and ride A park and ride, also known as incentive parking or a commuter lot, is a parking lot with public transport connections that allows commuting, commuters and other people heading to city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, Rail t ...

facility is located on Indian Brook Drive just off Exit 9. North of Exit 9, the speed limit increases to . A gap in the exit numbering—there is no Exit 10—allows for future addition of an interchange with more direct access to Somersworth; such an exit has been under consideration "since the turnpike was built in the 1950s". The turnpike continues north and crosses into Rochester, reaching the second barrier toll soon after. Exit 11 provides access to Old Dover Road, for northbound traffic only. The freeway expands to six lanes north of Exit 12 and bypasses downtown Rochester to the west.

US 202 U.S. Route 202 (US 202) is a spur route of US 2. It follows a northeasterly and southwesterly direction stretching from Delaware to Maine, also traveling through the states of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Mass ...

joins the freeway at Exit 13, near the site of a park and ride facility built in 2014. NH 11 joins the turnpike to the north at Exit 15. Both US 202 and NH 11 depart the turnpike at Exit 16 to East Rochester. Immediately north of Exit 16, the freeway narrows into a

super two A super two, super two-lane highway or wide two-lane is a two-lane surface road built to highway standards with wide lanes and other safety features normally present on a freeway with more lanes, typically including partial control of access, o ...

and the speed limit drops to . The highway continues north into

, with Exits 17 and 18 providing local access via NH 75 and NH 125. The Spaulding Turnpike designation ends at Exit 18 near

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

; NH 16 continues north as a full-access highway.

Tolls

Two barrier tolls are present on the Spaulding Turnpike—one in Dover and one in Rochester. Travel anywhere south of exit 6, north of exit 11, or between the barrier tolls (exits 7 through 9) is free of charge.

Electronic tolling

In November 2021, the New Hampshire Department of Transportation announced the installation of all-electronic tolling and collection of funds using

E-ZPass E-ZPass is an electronic toll collection system used on toll roads, toll bridges, and toll tunnels in the Eastern United States, Midwestern United States, and Southern United States. The E-ZPass Interagency Group (IAG) consists of member agencie ...

transponders that are scanned by sensors for payment.

Toll rates

Toll rates are determined by the class of vehicle (number of axles, single or dual rear tires). The

NHDOT The New Hampshire Department of Transportation (NHDOT) is a government agency of the U.S. state of New Hampshire. The Commissioner of NHDOT is Victoria Sheehan. The main office of the NHDOT is located in the J. O. Morton Building in Concord. F ...

currently offers discounted tolls for customers utilizing

transponder In telecommunications, a transponder is a device that, upon receiving a signal, emits a different signal in response. The term is a blend word, blend of ''transmitter'' and ''responder''. In air navigation or radio frequency identification, a T ...

s registered with the agency. The discount rates are 30 percent for Class 1-4 vehicles (single rear tires) and 10 percent for Class 5-12 vehicles (dual rear tires).

Exit list

''Sourcing for old exit numbering:''

USGS The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, a ...

1956 Dover quadrangle
/ref>

1958 Berwick quadrangle
/ref>

Concurrent routes

: ,

U.S. Route 202 U.S. Route 202 (US 202) is a spur route of US 2. It follows a northeasterly and southwesterly direction stretching from Delaware to Maine, also traveling through the states of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massa ...

: ,

New Hampshire Route 11 New Hampshire Route 11 is a east–west state highway in New Hampshire, running completely across the central part of the state. Its western terminus is at the Vermont state line in Charlestown, where it continues west as Vermont Route 11. The e ...

: , Rochester