The State of New Hampshire Department of Transportation (NHDOT) is a government agency of the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of New Hampshire

New Hampshire

New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...

. The NHDOT is under the executive direction of Commissioner

Commissioner

Commissioner is in principle the title given to a member of a commission or to an individual who has been given a commission ....

 of Transportation George Campbell. The main office of the NHDOT is located in the J.O. Morton Building in Concord.

Concord, New Hampshire

The city of Concord is the capital of the state of New Hampshire in the United States. It is also the county seat of Merrimack County. As of the 2010 census, its population was 42,695....

Functions

NHDOT's general functions, as provided in NH RSA:21-L, are:

• Planning, developing, and maintaining a state transportation network which will provide for safe and convenient movement of people and goods throughout the state by means of a system of highways and railroads, air service, mass transit and other practicable modes of transportation in order to support state growth and economic development and promote the general welfare of the citizens of the state.

• Developing and maintaining state owned land and buildings, except as otherwise provided by law, and cooperating with the Department of Administrative Services in preparing a long-range state capital improvements plan.

• Performing any regulation of transportation activities required by law which is not within the jurisdiction of another state agency.

NHDOT operates a 5-1-1

5-1-1

5-1-1, initially designated for road weather information, is a transportation and traffic information telephone hotline in some regions of the United States and Canada. Travelers can dial the three-digit telephone number 5-1-1 on traditional landline telephones and most mobile phones. It is an N11...

 traveler information system online and by phone.

History

From 1905 to 1915, the responsibility for highways and bridges was vested with the State Engineer. From 1915 to 1950, the NHDOT was the "Division to the Highway Department", which was established under Chapter 103 of the New Hampshire Laws of 1915. In 1950, the department became the "New Hampshire Department of Public Works and Highways", established under Part 9 of Chapter 5 of the New Hampshire Laws of 1950.

On February 18, 1986, the Department of Public Works and Highways was reorganized under Chapter 402 of the laws
of 1985 (RSA:21-L), as the Department of Transportation. This reorganization of the department added the Transportation Division of the Public Utilities Commission (Bureaus of Rail Safety and Common Carriers) and the Aeronautics Commission.

Additional agency reorganization under Chapter 257 of the New Hampshire Laws of 2004 changed the Division of Aeronautics to the Division of Aeronautics, Rail, and Transit.

Divisions

Under the 1986 reorganization plan, five Divisions were created within the Department:

• Project Development - plans and designs transportation projects and oversees their construction
• Operations - the NHDOT's largest Division is responsible for the maintenance of state highways and bridges, and the maintenance and operation of the State's turnpike system
• Administration - is responsible for support activities in the Department, including accounting, auditing, purchasing, budgeting, contracts, information technology and the print shop
• Public Works and Transportation - responsible for architectural and engineering design and planning of State-owned facilities other than those of the University System
• Division of Aeronautics, Rail and Transit - works with Federal, state and local agencies to preserve and promote various modes of transportation outside of the mode of automobile/truck and highways

Regional planning

NHDOT shares planning authority with the following Metropolitan Planning Organizations and regional planning commissions, which allocate federal funding:

• Central New Hampshire Planning Commission
• Lakes Region Planning Commission
• Nashua Regional Planning Commission
• North Country Council
• Rockingham Planning Commission
• Salem-Plaistow-Windham MPO
• Seacoast MPO
• Southern New Hampshire Planning Commission
• Southwest Region Planning Commission
• Strafford Regional Planning Commission
• Upper Valley-Lake Sunapee Regional Planning Commission

External links

• NH Department of Transportation website