The Portsmouth Traffic Circle is a four-point rotary in the city of

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

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

Description

The southern exit of the circle provides access to

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 1) in Miami, Florida, north to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the ...

north and south, although only northbound I-95 traffic enters here. The eastern and northern exits are part of the U.S. Route 1 Bypass, and the western exit marks the eastern end of U.S. Route 4, as well as the southern terminus of NH Route 16 and the Spaulding Turnpike. Traffic from southbound I-95 also enters the circle here after navigating a circuitous series of ramps from exit 5. Drivers leaving the circle to join I-95 can head south towards

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

or north to

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

. The circle also provides motorists with a connection to

Kittery, Maine Kittery is a town in York County, Maine, United States, and the oldest incorporated town in Maine. Home to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on Seavey's Island, Kittery includes Badger's Island, the seaside district of Kittery Point, and part of ...

, and originally linked the NH Turnpike to the

Maine Turnpike Interstate 95 (I-95) is a part of the Interstate Highway System that runs north–south from Miami, Florida to Houlton, Maine. The highway enters Maine from the New Hampshire state line in Kittery, Maine, Kittery and runs for to the Cana ...

, via US 1 Bypass North. The portion of the Bypass south from the circle leads to

US 1 U.S. Route 1 or U.S. Highway 1 (US 1) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway System, United States Numbered Highway that serves the East Coast of the United States. It runs from Key West, Florida, north to Fort ...

and the seacoast region. US 4 travels west toward Concord, while the Spaulding Turnpike and NH 16 link the seacoast with the lakes region and the White Mountains. According to the NHDOT, the "length" of the traffic circle is .

History

When it was built, the circle marked the northern terminus of the New Hampshire Turnpike, later designated as part of Interstate 95, and linked the NH Turnpike with the Spaulding Turnpike to form what 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, N ...

's Bureau of Turnpikes collectively terms the "Eastern Turnpike". The NH Turnpike has since incorporated the remainder of I-95 in NH to the

Piscataqua River Bridge The Piscataqua River Bridge is a through arch bridge that crosses the Piscataqua River, connecting Portsmouth, New Hampshire with Kittery, Maine, United States. Carrying six lanes of Interstate 95, the bridge is the third modern span and first f ...

References

{{coord, 43.0729, -70.7810, region:US-NH, display=title Portsmouth, New Hampshire Roundabouts and traffic circles in the United States U.S. Route 4 U.S. Route 1 Interstate 95