January 17, 2009
Newburyport News
N.H. proposes ‘open tolling’ in Hampton
HAMPTON, N.H. — A Sunday evening traffic jam at the Hampton tolls is as much a part of local summers as baseball and beach pizza.
But as soon as next year, sitting in five miles of gridlock on your way home from vacation could become a forgettable memory of seasons past.
The New Hampshire transportation commissioner has proposed a $20 million project to install “open road” tolls for the busy way station, forcing paying customers to virtually exit the highway while those with E-ZPass transponders cruise through at normal speed.
New Hampshire Transportation Commissioner George Campbell unveiled the proposal at a breakfast meeting with the state’s Executive Council on Wednesday. He projected a cost of $20 million, with a target date of 2010.
Bill Boynton, spokesman for New Hampshire’s Department of Transportation, conceded that date might be “ambitious,” but it reflects the state’s desire to unclog the works on busy days at the toll plaza, which is one of the busiest in the state with an average of 60,000 cars passing through per day.
“Hampton remains a priority in terms of trying to alleviate congestion,” Boynton said.
The addition of the current E-ZPass lanes, which ask people to slow to 10 mph, hasn’t been able to accomplish that task. Boynton said the state knew the E-ZPass system alone would not end the traffic woes.
“Part of the problem in Hampton and other places with E-ZPass, if traffic gets backed up, people with transponders get caught up with the others. You lose your free flow,” he said. “With open road tolling, you maintain highway speeds, and depending on the plaza layout, those paying exact change will have to go to a ramp or to the side.”
The open road tolls are already in place in many places across the country, including Delaware and Florida. It works by setting up a sort of scaffolding over the span of highway holding sensors that detect transponders in cars.
Campbell threw out the idea of a similar toll system to be tested on Interstate 93 in Salem, but Boynton said the Hampton toll is much more of a concrete idea.
While traffic on New Hampshire roads is down about 8 percent overall, toll increases at the Hampton plaza and elsewhere have more than made up the revenue difference.
But there are still hurdles for the project to clear, Boynton said.
“One of the challenges in Hampton in the past is that we haven’t been able to expand the plaza due to wetlands issues,” Boynton said. “The commissioner thinks we can configure this to not infringe on (wetlands) but still allow for the open road and the booths.”
Another drawback to the idea would be the fact that the percentage of people using E-ZPass at the Hampton tolls is smaller than at others in New Hampshire, Boynton said. The theory is that more tourists travelling long distances are going through the Hampton plaza to New Hampshire and Maine.
August, the prime vacation season, is the toll plaza’s busiest month.
But currently, Boynton noted, many drivers are passing through the E-ZPass lanes much faster than the 10 mph speed limit. The average speed is 22 mph, and an average of 45,000 cars per month fly through New Hampshire tolls at more than 40 mph, causing safety concerns for drivers and toll takers, he said.
The open tolling would definitely solve that problem, though Boynton said even that system might not completely eliminate traffic at the plaza completely.
“There may be times, even under that scenario, you’ll see brake lights all the way to York (Maine),” he said. “It might not necessarily prevent that, but it would do a lot to reduce traffic and make it more convenient.”