Median guardrails will be added to parts of Interstate 95 in New Hampshire next year, a move announced after three recent crashes resulting in a combined three deaths and serious injuries. They all involved vehicles veering from one side of the highway to the other.
State Department of Transportation spokesperson Jennifer Lane stated the agency will devise a plan to add median guardrails to “the most critical sections” of I-95. Construction will begin in the summer of 2025.
Arlen Brown, 68, of Sabattus, Maine, died Oct. 30 after crossing over the highway median in Portsmouth and striking another vehicle, The other driver, a 25-year-old Berwick, Maine, woman, was hospitalized with serious but non-life-threatening injuries, police said. It marked the fifth death along I-95 in New Hampshire this year and third in two weeks, according to New Hampshire State Police.
Fourteen people have died in I-95 crashes in the state dating back to 2018. Through Monday, Oct. 28, there have been 1,707 non-fatal crashes on the highway this year alone, per state police.
“Because impairment, distraction, and speeding are factors in many severe crashes in New Hampshire, we’re reminding everyone to stay mindful and make safe choices while driving,” Lane said.
NH DOT to start with markers before 2025 barrier project
In the coming weeks, the New Hampshire Department of Transportation will install more roadside reflective markers between Exit 2 and Exit 3 of I-95, concentrating on the area where the recent crashes have taken place.
The state agency is “reminding motorists to slow down, stay alert, and drive sober,” Lane added.
The deadly crash Wednesday was preceded by another fatal incident on Interstate 95 exactly two weeks prior.
On Oct. 16, two people were killed and a third person was hospitalized after a crash in Greenland, where a northbound driver, later identified as 24-year-old Steve Le of Methuen, Massachusetts, lost control, traveled over the median into oncoming traffic and struck a car. Le died from the crash, as did the southbound driver, 58-year-old Roanoke, Virginia resident Leslie Lynn, while a person in Lynn’s car was brought to the hospital.
Two people were seriously injured in an Oct. 23 crash on I-95 in Greenland, when a northbound vehicle crossed over the median and hit a car going south.
In late February, a California woman was identified as the victim of an I-95 accident close to the Portsmouth-Greenland line. A fatal crash also occurred on I-95 in Hampton in late May, according to state police.
NH DOT study in 2012 resulted in no barriers at that time
A 2012 study from the New Hampshire Department of Transportation on I-95 and other highways in the Granite State reviewed whether median barriers should be installed.
At that time, the department decided I-95 did not need median barriers. However, the final study found the Seacoast region had one of the higher motorist accident rates in all of New Hampshire.
The final 2012 report states the Department of Transportation completed the study on potential roadway upgrades “in order to help eliminate the potential of ‘crossover’ accidents on divided highways with medians 30 to 50 feet in width.”
Advocate for I-95 barriers calls fatalities ‘heartbreaking’ and ‘preventable’
Former state representative and career public health official Rich DiPentima, a Portsmouth resident, has advocated for median barriers to be installed on I-95 in New Hampshire in the past.
DiPentima drove to Massachusetts via I-95 Friday. He said he observed Massachusetts has installed median barriers on the highway to prevent cars from ending up in the opposite side of the highway.
The lack of median guardrails on I-95 in New Hampshire currently is “heartbreaking” and the consistent tragedies on the highway are “preventable,” said DiPentima.
“That’s all very good news. I’m happy to hear that,” he said of the Department of Transportation’s commitment to adding a guardrail. “Unfortunately it’s not going to help the families who’ve lost their loved ones. It’ll help prevent future loss of life.”
More than 100 fatal crashes in New Hampshire so far in 2024
New Hampshire State Police report there were 103 motor vehicle crashes involving fatalities on the state’s major roadways for the year through Sunday, Oct. 27. That doesn’t include the Oct. 30 death on I-95 and another fatal crash in Winchester on Oct. 29. A total of 114 people died in the 103 fatal crashes through Oct. 27.
In 2023, a total of 127 people died from motor vehicle crashes on major New Hampshire roadways, compared to 146 deaths tied to every major roadway crash in 2022.
New Hampshire is the only state in America to not require adults to wear seatbelts in the front seat of vehicles. Children are required by state law to wear them. Adult motorcyclists in New Hampshire are not required to wear helmets.
The state’s “hands free” law was enacted in July 2015, barring all motorists from using their cell phone or other handheld electronic device while driving.
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Publish date : 2024-11-01 22:40:00
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