Clear Cutting on Route 93
 

Why are the medians between the north and south lanes of route 93 being clear cut? I understand getting rid of a few trees that might fall on the road, but they seem to be going way beyond that. It looks ugly.

It is a mess!
 

I drive 93 weekly. I saw a sign advising information was available at:

http://www.rebuildingi93.com/

The section of the website called "project details/maps" does provide some information and drawings of what they are doing. No mention I could find about clear cutting, but they sure have taken down a lot of trees.

I saw it too, just south of exit 23, looks like many large trees were cut, I was wondering the same thing. It does look like they are working on some bridges up there also.

Timber revenue? The legislature got a new wood stove? Inquiring minds want to know :)

Cutting for safety
 

I noticed the tree cutting as well for the past few weeks and I also read about it but I don't remember where. They are cutting to try to minimize "shadowing" on Rt. 93. They feel the shadows in the winter contribute to the icy conditions and large quantities of accidents that have occurred in this area during the winter months.

I believe they are widening the highway maybe??? That would be my only guess for doing it

I ride 93 from Manchester to Franconia every weekend. Totaly agree with the above accounts of the appearance. There does not seem to be any rhyme or reason to the pattern of cutting. Some medians have been totaly cleared in spots and others untouched. I do find boat guys post interesting on the "why they are cutting".

Not sure if the reasons are the same, but a study was done a few years ago on I-89 as to a reason for the number of accidents on 89. The study revealed that the large granite outcroppings that exist on the highway would cause a "tunnel" affect on a sleepy or fatigued driver and they would literally put them to sleep while behind the wheel.

Since then they have removed more than one section of these granite ledges that enclose BOTH sides of the highway.

Wonder if they are thinking that trees do the same thing when they are that close to the highway.

Widening 93 in that area would not seem to be money well spent or needed, IMO. Would not be the first time that a state decided to spend money, just because. Who knows.

I heard they are preparing an area to put in a toll booth!!!:eek::D

I am so glad somebody posted this question. The last few times I've driven that stretch I was extremely puzzled as to why they would clear cut like that. It also appeared to be haphazard in nature. :confused:

Maybe the aticle linked below is where you read it? Anyway, there you have it. To prevent shadowing. It makes sense. There were a ton of accidnets this Winter on that stretch of I93. That being said, I would have never guessed the reason.

http://www.eagletribune.com/punewsnh...081023421.html

To paraphrase the relevant part of the article...

"The state recently has been cutting trees in Sanbornton and New Hampton for safety reasons. That work generated critical calls from residents wondering why the state was cutting trees.

Boynton said the work was being done because trees had grown too close to the road, shading it and leading to ice buildup in the colder months and causing winter maintenance problems."

You would think they could do a cleaner job and not make it look like a tornadoe just went through. I remember signs of years ago about keeping our highways clean and beautiful, even though highways are not, but they could have done a mnore tasteful job. I would also like to know who is paying for it (ha-ha) and what is being done with all the trees?

I agree with Lucy_Goose You would hope they would do something to get rid of the stumps or plant something like low laying carpet evergreens or something.:(

Although I also noticed that this area is where I have the most cell phone reception problems. Maybe those tress did something to get killed by the cell people......

Tight with our money
 

NH does things on the cheap. As a result we don't have income or sales taxes. The price for that sometimes is that things don't always get "prettied up". The natural undergrowth will probably cover most of the stumps within a year or two. Personally I'd rather the money be saved and just do the bare bones needed.

The shadowing explanation sounds reasonable although it seems like they got pretty aggressive in some places. I was trying to figure out why they leveled everything on some spots and did almost nothing in others. I hadn't considered the way the sun might hit the road. You learn something every day.

I agree that the shadowing effect had some merit as to the "why" they were clear cutting until I drove 93 again.There is no rhyme or reason to the cutting.A section that was cut in the median will have a stand a trees right next to it with the same exposure untouched.After further review I'm not buying the shadowing effect reason.I don't really have an alternative reason though.:confused:

The government needs money to plug the budget hole.
Selling the timber maybe?:eek:

After just having trees taken down on my property last week, the ends don't justify the means.

Had 22 total trees removed, filled a logging truck to the top with timber used as a credit towards the work. Did not pay for the entire thing. The logistics of logging a median on 93 would be mind blowingly expensive and no amount of timber would ever create a break even point let alone a money maker.

BUT the state has been known to act before thinking, so you may have the motive correct.

I am telling you, Toll Booth!!!:laugh:

We drove by on Sunday. I got both more perplexed and more angry as we went along. I tried and tried to build a reason for the ugly and seemingly random appearance. Every theory was abandoned. Why a State that relies on tourism would give the front sidewalk such a bad hedge clipping is really confusing.

Along the same lines...
 

The hatchet job done on Rte 11 in Alton from Minge Cove area to Mt Major area.
I would think that the root system for the trees and bushes would help prevent erosion, and now I am not sure if heavy rains and heavy snow melt off may cause more erosion in that area.
What amazes me is that the the scenic views along that section of highway on the lake side are now blocked by the rising tree canopy, and even the scenic view itself in Gilford overlooking the broads is being overgrown by the tree canopy. Perhaps a little selective cutting (not a clear cut like American Loggers :emb:) would open up those views and return the scenic NH look.

It makes me wonder who makes these decisions.

Maybe This?
 

Stimulus funds were cited for a similar affront not too far away. :confused:

Are they done?
 

As we headed home from the lake on Saturday I commented to my wife that the state was clearing trees to cut down on shading and icing. We agreed that it looks like they could have done more trimming in places and like they didn't bother to clean up where they did cut. Looks sloppy and as if they ran out of money and just packed up and went home.

If you think that was clear cutting, you should see the section of I-93 just north of Exit 2 that was recently cleared for the widening of 93 down in Salem/Windham!

Don't get me wrong, I am all for the widening, as I commute to MA every day. The progress they make on literally a daily basis is amazing.

Bumping this old thread...the median from the weigh station just north of exit 3 up to exit 4 has been clear cut. They are replacing the bridges on that stretch, and widening it to 3 lanes (the same as it is from exit 1 to the weigh station).

Do you see any delays on the Northbound route? I imagine they shut down work during rush hours. Wondering what the off hours delays might be?

Seconded, I make the commute maybe twice a week down to mass from exit 20 and I actually was confused last week by how much different it looked!

They usually announce them in advance. From what I have seen, they do daytime lane closures for short periods of time (while blasting). Major work requiring longer lane closures they typically do at night.

The traffic no longer backs up in Salem at exit 1. It is smooth sailing until you get just past the weigh station where it goes from 3 to 2 lanes. Even then, the back up is way shorter than it used to be in Salem, at least from my experience. As always, Friday afternoon is the worst. I can't speak to weekend traffic though.

Cape Cod
 

Last year in MA the state or state hired contractor started to clear cut the median on route 6 after the Sagamore bridge. It looked horrible, like a wasteland, not representative of what cape cod is all about. They had so much backlash from people the brakes were put on the project immediately and since then replacement trees were planted. As someone posted earlier, who gets to make these decisions and hand out these contracts?
DC