New Hampshire Route 16 - History

History

From 1922 until 1926, most of the original surface alignment of Route 16, from Portsmouth to the intersection with Route 26 in Errol, was known as New England Interstate Route 16, the "East Side Road". In 1926, the New England Routes were superseded by the system of United States Numbered Highways, and many of the New England Routes, including Route 16, became state highways with the same number.

Route 16 used to serve as a non-tolled alternative to the Spaulding Turnpike between Dover and Rochester. In the early 1990s, NHDOT rerouted Route 16 onto the turnpike as a concurrency for the full length of the turnpike. Route 16's old routing is now made up of several different roads. After crossing the bridge from Newington to Dover, the old NH 16 alignment traveled along Dover Point Road, an unnumbered city road, into downtown Dover to an intersection with NH 108, where that route used to end. Route 108 was extended along Dover's Central Ave. and further north into Rochester to the present end of NH 108 at NH 125 (map). From there, Route 125 was extended along Route 16's former route north to the end of the Spaulding Turnpike in Milton, and NH 125 now carries the White Mountain Highway designation between Rochester and Milton (map).

The Conway Bypass is a proposed re-routing of Route 16 around Conway and North Conway. While preliminary work has been done, the bypass is still in planning stages.