I-95 median barrier: $4.6M project approved after NH highway deaths

A nearly $4.6 million contract has been awarded for the construction of a five-mile median barrier on Interstate 95 in New Hampshire with the goal to prevent highway deaths.

The fully federally-funded package was approved by the state Executive Council Aug. 27.

The interstate barrier will stretch from mile marker 8 in North Hampton north of state Route 151, through Greenland to mile marker 13.3 in Portsmouth, ending north of the Sherburne Road bridge, according to NH Department of Transportation records. Construction won’t begin until next year and is required to be completed by mid-September 2026.

More measures could be taken in the future, according to NH Department of Transportation Commissioner William Cass.

“This is the first anticipated series of projects to protect the I-95 median from Portsmouth to the Massachusetts border,” he wrote in the agency’s proposal.

In 2024, five people were killed in crashes on I-95 in New Hampshire. Three of the fatalities occurred in a brief period in October and November, while several other serious crashes took place on the interstate when drivers lost control and drifted over the grass median into oncoming traffic.

“Installation of the median barriers consists of 21,200 linear feet of cable barrier, 11,000 linear feet of w-beam guardrail, and 700 linear feet of concrete barrier near bridges,” Cass added. “The purpose of this project is to reduce median crossover crashes and to reduce the severity of crashes. Recent crossover crashes prompted focus on this route.”

An estimated 85,000 to 100,000 vehicles pass through the Seacoast portion of I-95 daily, per the Department of Transportation.

“I can tell you there’s a giant sigh of relief in my district,” said Executive Council member Janet Stevens, a Rye Republican. “We know those median crossover accidents took far too many people.”

The barrier was initially expected to be installed in 2025, but the project was delayed because the low bid came in at $5.7 million, which was more than $2.3 million higher than the state’s project estimate. The revised bid was re-released in July.

The newly approved contract exceeded the Department of Transportation’s revised project cost estimate by 3.9%, Cass wrote.

The Department of Transportation received three proposals from contractors in the revised bid. Sargent Corporation, an Orono, Maine firm, was awarded the $4,599,905 project.

The Executive Council also approved a contingency of $459,990.50 for the contractor.

“The proposed contingency amount is 10% of the contract amount. This is to account for unanticipated traffic control needs and any guardrail adjustments that may (be) needed during installation,” Cass wrote.

Last year’s deadly I-95 incidents prompted then-Gov. Chris Sununu and New Hampshire State Police to enforce a “zero-tolerance zone” on the Seacoast corridor during the holiday season. All drivers that were pulled over between Portsmouth and Seabrook were ticketed as a result of the enforcement, regardless of the offense.