Interstate 95 in New Hampshire

View south along I-95 just after crossing the Piscataqua River Bridge from Maine

I-95 crosses from Massachusetts into New Hampshire in the town of Seabrook. There is a welcome center just north of the Massachusetts state line. The Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant is accessible via exit 1. The highway then continues through the coast towns of Hampton Falls and Hampton, with state-run liquor stores just prior to exit 2. I-95 interchanges with New Hampshire Route 101 (NH 101) in Hampton, then comes to a toll plaza soon after. That interchange also contains a ramp toll used by all traffic passing between the turnpike and NH 101. Traffic using the turnpike that does not pass by or use exit 2 does not pay a toll.

I-95 then continues through the towns of North Hampton and Greenland before entering the city of Portsmouth. Near the north end, a connection to the Portsmouth Circle provides access to U.S. Route 1 Bypass (US 1 Byp.) and the Spaulding Turnpike (US 4/NH 16). I-95 crosses into Maine less than 2 miles (3.2 km) from the Portsmouth Circle.

The turnpike opened in 1950 as a four-lane highway parallel to US 1 and was widened to eight lanes in 1976. The blue turnpike shield for the New Hampshire Turnpike is no longer in use, but was similar to the present-day signs for the Spaulding Turnpike and Everett Turnpike.[3]

From its designation in 1957 until 1972, I-95 in Portsmouth did not connect to I-95 in Kittery, Maine. Instead, the expressway ended at the Portsmouth Circle. From there, motorists followed US 1 Bypass via the Sarah Mildred Long Bridge to a junction near the Kittery Circle with US 1. This bridge connected the New Hampshire and Maine Turnpikes. It was a drawbridge over the Piscataqua waterway, which created problems on busy days with frequent ship traffic. Not only was this an obstacle to traffic, but the bridge was a narrow three-lane undivided roadway where the center lane could either be used in the direction of the greatest traffic flow or left closed for greater safety. Lane identification was accomplished via repeated banks of three traffic lights, one over each lane, and was the reason for the third (center) traffic light on the bridge. This bridge has since been replaced by another drawbridge with the same name.

Furthermore, US 1 Bypass is not a controlled-access highway, but an all-access divided highway (similar to US 1 between Saugus and Boston in Massachusetts). As far as most motorists were concerned, I-95 ended at the Portsmouth Circle and restarted in Kittery. The Piscataqua River Bridge, which is not a drawbridge unlike the Long Bridge, was completed in the 1970s to correct this problem. Three construction workers fell to their deaths in the construction of the bridge.

Exit numbers are sequential. The entire route is in Rockingham County. [1][4]

Location[1][4]	mi[1][4]	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
New Hampshire–Massachusetts line	0.000	0.000	—	I‑95 south	Continuation into Massachusetts
			60	Route 286 – Beaches, Salisbury, MA, Massachusetts Visitor Center	Signed based on Massachusetts numbering; southbound exit originates in New Hampshire; future exit 90
Seabrook	0.662	1.065	1	NH 107 – Seabrook, Kingston
Hampton	5.465	8.795	2	NH 101 – Exeter, Hampton, Hampton Beach, Manchester	Hampton Side Toll Plaza
	5.777	9.297	Hampton Main Toll Plaza
Portsmouth	12.451	20.038	3	NH 33 – Greenland, Portsmouth	Signed as exit 3B southbound
	13.225	21.284	3A	Pease International Tradeport, Park & Ride, Bus Terminal	Southbound exit only
	13.329	21.451	4	Spaulding Turnpike / US 4 / NH 16 – New Hampshire Lakes, White Mountains, Newington, Dover	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
	13.836	22.267	5	US 1 Byp. (Portsmouth Circle)	Northbound signage
	14.462	23.274		Spaulding Turnpike / US 4 / NH 16 – Newington, Dover, Durham, Concord	Southbound signage
	14.565	23.440	6	Woodbury Avenue – Portsmouth	Northbound exit only
	15.421	24.818	7	Market Street / Woodbury Avenue – Downtown Portsmouth	Woodbury Avenue not signed northbound
Piscataqua River	16.193	26.060	–	I-95 north (Piscataqua River Bridge) – All Maine Points	Bridge; continuation into Maine
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Incomplete access       Tolled

• Steve Anderson's BostonRoads.com: New Hampshire Turnpike (I-95)

Interstate 95
Previous state: Massachusetts	New Hampshire	Next state: Maine