New Hampshire Route 18
Map of Grafton County in northwestern New Hampshire with NH 18 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by NHDOT
Length	20.116 mi[1] (32.374 km)
Existed	1922–present
Major junctions
South end	I-93 / US 3 in Franconia
Major intersections	I-93 in Littleton US 302 in Littleton
North end	VT 18 in Waterford, VT
Location
Country	United States
State	New Hampshire
Counties	Grafton
Highway system
New Hampshire Highway System Interstate US State Turnpikes
← NH 16B → NH 25
← Route 17 N.E. → Route 20

New Hampshire Route 18 is a 20.116-mile-long (32.374 km) state highway in northwestern New Hampshire. It is a local road serving Franconia, Bethlehem, and Littleton, New Hampshire, which I-93 bypasses. Its northern extension, Vermont Route 18, continues northward from the Connecticut River to St. Johnsbury, Vermont. NH 18 closely parallels I-93 for its entire length and has several interchanges with the Interstate highway.

Route description

NH 18 begins as a spur of I-93 (the Franconia Notch Parkway) at the height of land in Franconia Notch. (U.S. Route 3 is overlapped with I-93 on the Parkway.) NH 18 proceeds to the northwest, intersecting NH 141 and NH 142, near its interchange with I-93. In downtown Franconia, NH 18 joins with NH 116 and meets the eastern end of NH 117 before leaving town and crossing into Bethlehem. NH 18 has two interchanges with I-93 in Bethlehem, joining U.S. Route 302 westbound at the second one (US 302 east provides access to downtown). The highway crosses into Littleton, splitting with NH 116 in the center of town. Just west of downtown, US 302 splits from NH 18 as well. (This intersection is signed as the northern terminus of NH 10, although this designation officially ends much further south.) Northwest of town, NH 18 joins NH 135 near another interchange with I-93. The two routes have a direct interchange with I-93 near the Connecticut River at exit 44 (I-93's last exit in New Hampshire). NH 135 splits off NH 18 before it crosses the river into Vermont (along with I-93 to its west) and becomes VT 18.

History

Route 18 was originally part of the Theodore Roosevelt International Highway, a transcontinental auto trail organized in 1919 running from Portland, Oregon, to Portland, Maine, via Ontario.^[2] Within New Hampshire, the Roosevelt Highway ran 60 miles (97 km) from Littleton to Conway using modern New Hampshire Route 18 from the Connecticut River to downtown Littleton, then modern U.S. Route 302 from Littleton to the Maine line.^[3]

In 1922, the New England states adopted the New England road marking system, assigning route numbers to the main through routes in the region.^[4] The Roosevelt Highway routing in New Hampshire was assigned New England Route 18.^[5] In 1926, the New England road marking system was supplanted by the national United States Numbered Highway System. Route 18 was transferred to state highway systems in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.

In 1935, U.S. Route 302 was designated between Montpelier, Vermont and Portland, Maine, utilizing Route 18 east of Littleton to Portland. As a result, Route 18 was truncated on the overlapped roadways and later extended along other roads to Franconia.

Junction list

The entire route is in Grafton County. ^[1][6]

Location[1][6]	mi[1][6]	km	Destinations	Notes
Franconia	0.000– 0.053	0.000– 0.085	I-93 / US 3 (Franconia Notch Parkway)	Southern terminus; Exit 34C on I-93
	2.804	4.513	NH 141 (Butterhill Road) – Twin Mountain	Western terminus of NH 141
	4.070	6.550	NH 142 (Forest Hill Road) to I-93 south – Bethlehem	Southern terminus of NH 142
	4.825	7.765	NH 116 south (Easton Road) – Easton, Littleton, Plymouth Wallace Hill Road to I-93	Southern end of concurrency with NH 116; Exit 38 on I-93
	5.300	8.530	NH 117 (Sugar Hill Road) – Sugar Hill	Eastern terminus of NH 117
Bethlehem	7.533– 7.719	12.123– 12.423	I-93 north (Styles Bridges Highway) – Littleton	Exit 39 on I-93
	9.525	15.329	I-93 (Styles Bridges Highway) / US 302 east (Main Street) – Bethlehem, Littleton, St. Johnsbury, VT, Franconia, Plymouth	Southern end of concurrency with US 302; Exit 40 on I-93
Littleton	11.826	19.032	NH 116 north (Union Street) – Whitefield, Berlin	Northern end of concurrency with NH 116
	12.382	19.927	US 302 west (Meadow Street) to I-93 – Lisbon, Woodsville Also signed as NH 10 south.	Northern end of concurrency with US 302
	14.016	22.557	NH 135 north (North Littleton Road) – Dalton	Southern end of wrong-way concurrency with NH 135
	18.722– 19.042	30.130– 30.645	I-93 (Styles Bridges Highway) – Littleton, Plymouth, St. Johnsbury, VT	Exit 44 on I-93
	19.831	31.915	NH 135 south (Monroe Road) – Woodsville, Monroe	Northern end of wrong-way concurrency with NH 135
	20.116	32.374	VT 18 north – Waterford	Continuation into Vermont
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access

Road names along route

NH 18 near its southern terminus, departing Interstate 93 in Franconia Notch

NH Route 18 uses the following local road names:

Franconia

• Profile Road
• Main Street

Bethlehem

• Profile Road/Old Franconia Road
• Main Street/Dartmouth College Road

Littleton

• Bethlehem Road
• Cottage Street
• Main Street
• St. Johnsbury Road

References

External links