O P I N I O N

THE SOAPBOX

Stand up. Speak up. It’s your turn.

New Hampshire’s transportation system does not run on back-room deals, campaign slogans, or eleventh-hour improvisation. It runs—when it runs well—on public process, engineering reality, and basic honesty with taxpayers. That is why the Executive Council’s latest clash over the Ten-Year Transportation Plan should concern every Granite Stater, and especially those of us in Manchester.

At the center of the dispute are calls by Councilor John Stephen to cut or delay projects in Hooksett, Londonderry, Bedford, and other communities in order to force the I-293 Exits 6 and 7 reconstruction back into the plan. Few dispute the need for this project. Those interchanges are outdated, congested, and dangerous. But a good project doesn’t become good policy simply because one councilor insists on it.

Councilor Karen Liot Hill put it directly: rewriting the plan at the last minute—after the Department of Transportation held public hearings across the state—would undermine the transparent process communities rely on. She’s right. The Ten-Year Plan only works when we honor public input, follow engineering sequence, and maintain consistent funding. If that framework crumbles, communities from Gorham to Seabrook lose confidence that their priorities will be treated fairly.

Councilor Janet Stevens underscored the same point when she defended the importance of the Route 1 evacuation corridor and warned against reshuffling regional priorities to satisfy political pressure. These aren’t abstract debates. They are decisions that affect public safety, mobility, and regional resilience.

So what is driving the sudden scramble? The answer is simple: Governor Ayotte’s refusal to consider even modest toll adjustments, despite the clear reality that current revenue cannot keep pace with the project backlog. Without additional tools, the Executive Council is left with two choices—either raise revenue or cannibalize essential projects elsewhere. That is not responsible governance; it’s the inevitable result of ignoring the math.

The governor cannot have it both ways. She cannot promise improvements to Manchester’s infrastructure while rejecting the funding mechanisms required to build them. And it is misleading to suggest toll adjustments benefit only “developers.” Modernizing I-293 and I-93 benefits tens of thousands of everyday commuters, families, workers, and emergency responders who depend on safe, reliable travel.

This is where the debate usually stalls. But here is the truth: raising transportation revenue saves taxpayers money in the long run. Every transportation engineer knows this. Every dollar we invest in preventative maintenance saves four to ten dollars in future reconstruction. Delaying a project by just five years—during a period of construction inflation—can raise its cost by 30 to 50 percent. And every dollar of state match often unlocks two to four dollars in federal funding. Underfunding is not fiscal conservatism—it’s the most expensive choice we can make.

It is also a matter of safety. Last year, New Hampshire recorded 135 roadway fatalities, part of a decade-long upward trend. When other states have rebuilt outdated interchanges similar to Exits 6 and 7, they’ve seen 20 to 30 percent reductions in fatal and injury crashes. Even applying that range to a small share of our crash problem means real lives saved—not to mention fewer serious injuries, fewer emergency responses, and fewer families shattered by preventable tragedies.

And a truly modern transportation plan cannot end at the highway on-ramp. Passenger rail from Massachusetts to Nashua, Manchester, and Concord is not a luxury—it’s a generational economic investment. Rail expands our workforce, connects employers to talent, links colleges and hospitals to metropolitan job centers, and provides young families, seniors, and those who cannot drive with real mobility. It is the backbone of an economy competing for 21st-century workers. Ignoring rail while promising economic growth is like widening a road but refusing to connect it to the highway.

Manchester deserves clarity. We deserve leaders who acknowledge the real costs, respect the planning process, and tell the truth about how major infrastructure gets funded. Instead, we are being offered a false choice between gutting other communities’ priorities or pretending billions in upgrades can be completed “within our means” without new revenue.

What we need is seriousness—of the kind demonstrated by Liot Hill, Stevens, and others who insist on process, transparency, and responsible planning.

Manchester needs the Exit 6 and 7 reconstruction. We need a modern I-293 corridor. We need passenger rail. But we also need honesty about what it will take to pay for all of it.

Let’s finish the Ten-Year Plan the right way—by honoring public input, protecting regional equity, investing early to avoid massive long-term costs, and building the safe, modern transportation system New Hampshire deserves.

David Preece is a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives, representing Hillsborough 17.

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