Open road tolling OK'd for I-95 Hampton Toll Plaza New Hampshire

New Hampshire DOT's Bureau of Turnpikes is working "feverishly" to introduce open road tolling through the middle of their main Hampton toll plaza on I-95 by May 30th 2010. Administrator Harvey Goodwin tells us the rush of New Yorkers and Bostonians heading north starts in earnest in June, so to avoid another summer of toll plaza backups they've set a tough target date and a fast schedule.

Legislation to allow the open road toll project to move passed the state legislature only last week. Goodwin says they hope to have a Request for Proposals out in "a few weeks" for toll system integrators for the open road tolling.

NHDOT engineers and HNTB consultants are now working on designs for both civil engineering and the toll systems. They want to award a contract for civil works in June.

The plan is to:

- demolish the six central toll lanes of the existing 16-lane plaza to provide 2+2 open road toll (ORT) lanes plus shoulders

- lengthen the plaza pavement to provide the distances needed for safe merges of stop-to-pay and highspeed ORT traffic

- add an additional cash lane each side to maintain 12 cash lanes

No work is planned for the adjoining side plaza located between two trumpet interchanges with NH101. (see aerial picture to the left of the main plaza)

Hampton toll plaza is 9km (5.6 miles) north of the Massachusetts border on the 14.7 mile (24km) 4+4 lane tollroad which closely parallels the state's narrow Atlantic coast between Massachusetts and Maine. It serves through traffic, traffic to Portsmouth, the coast and junctions with expressways NH101 and NH16 (Spaulding Turnpike).

Average daily traffic at the Hampton main plaza in the past few years has been:
- 2005 65.6k
- 2006 64.5k
- 2007 65.0k
- 2008 60.8k

Traffic is heavily skewed to weekends, holidays and the summer. At those times traffic is regularly over 100k/day.

The existing 16 lane toll plaza can cater to peak hourly one-directional flows of about 6,000 vehicles with two transponder lanes (2x1200=2400) and eight cash lanes (8x450 = 3600).

With two ORT lanes (2x2000) and the eight cash lanes (3600) it could handle 7600, an hour - about a quarter more than now. (Our numbers not NHDOT)

Transponder transactions are about 45% of the total at present.

NHDOT's Harvey Goodwin says they looked at cashless all-electronic tolling, but the large number and great variety of cash payers makes that infeasible. In any case cash lanes at the existing plaza won't need work. The plaza already has a good tunnel for staff to move from one side to the other of the new highspeed ORT lanes.  Some new stairs are about the only structural change needed.

Total cost of the toll plaza project is likely to be in the range $20m to $25m.

$120m worth of I-95 being sold, yes really...

The Turnpike division of NHDOT owns what was once known as the Blue Star Turnpike, in the new legislation called "the eastern New Hampshire turnpike", more frequently known as "the Turnpike" or just "95" which goes from the Massachusetts border north through Hampton to Portsmouth but which does not yet include about 2.5km (1.6 miles) of I-95 from the center of Portsmouth to the bridge over the Piscataqua River that is the border with Maine.

HB391 the legislation authorizing open road tolling provides that the Bureau of Turnpikes will pay NHDOT $120m to purchase this remaining 2.5km of I-95.  There's no provision for the Bureau to collect a toll on its purchase.

NH/I-95 remains a single point toll road with the barrier plaza at Hampton and the adjacent side plaza for I-95/NH101 traffic, and no other tolls.

The purchase is intended apparently to reduce the non-toll part of NHDOT with a small reduction in responsibilities and costs for upkeep of the interstate and some new revenue. It is an intra-DOT transfer.

HB391 is described as: "AN ACT authorizing the department of transportation to convey a portion of interstate highways to the bureau of turnpikes, redefining the eastern New Hampshire turnpike, providing for the maintenance and funding of a portion of the eastern New Hampshire turnpike, increasing the aggregate amount of bonds the state may issue, and authorizing the department of transportation to install open road tolling."

It is unclear whether the Federal Highway Administration has to approve the sale of this section of I-95 which has received federal funds at various times during its life. To impose a toll on the newly acquired segment the Turnpike Bureau would have to obtain federal permission under one of the programs for tolling interstates.

(Interstates are state owned but have been federally funded in varying degrees, and are subject to federal law.)

HB391 describes the transaction:

"237.2-a Operation and Funding

"I. The bureau of turnpikes shall operate and maintain the eastern New Hampshire turnpike from the northerly expansion joint of the I-95 bridge over the Spaulding Turnpike, U.S. 4 and N.H. 16 (bridge No. 197/22) north to point on the New Hampshire-Maine boundary in the city of Portsmouth, which shall become part of the eastern New Hampshire turnpike under RSA 237:17 and the Blue Star turnpike under RSA 237:18.

"II. Acquisition and expansion of the eastern New Hampshire turnpike system for $120,000,000 plus interest shall be at the state borrowing rate to be paid over a maximum 20-year term to the highway fund from the turnpike reserves under terms and conditions to be determined by the commissioner of transportation."

The bridge taking I-95 over the Piscataqua River and its long approaches remain NHDOT (non-toll) so it continues to be eligible for federal and state tax funds.

HB391 also allows up to $766m of turnpike system revenue bonds to be issued, up from $586m.

Toll increases

Tolls will be increased at the Hampton Plaza to help pay for the improvements and the purchase.

Car tolls are to be increased by 50c. That's a 33% increase for cash and non-NH E-ZPass going from $1.50 to $2.00. The NH/E-ZPass toll is $1.05 and goes to $1.55 or 48% more.

Commercial vehicle tolls rise by $1.00. They now range between $2.70 and $6.50 so the increases are between 15% and 37%.

MONARCHICAL DEFERENCE: Tom Paine must be rolling in his grave. The New Hampshire DOT in their annual report address the state governor as "His Excellency."  Maybe George III won up there after all?

TOLLROADSnews 2009-05-17