Senate transportation committee advances Kancamagus mile markers, approves DMV technical fix for youth operators; several bills rereferred or rejected

The New Hampshire Senate Transportation Committee on an executive-session vote recommended passage of House Bill 713, directing mile markers along the Kancamagus Highway (Route 112), and approved House Bill 612, a DMV technical change aimed at reducing duplicate trips for youth operators transitioning to adult licenses.

The committee advanced HB 713 with an "ought to pass" recommendation and ordered it to finance after discussion about a fiscal note that estimates roughly $716,000 in costs and notes the use of constrained Federal Highway funds. Representative Jerry Stringham, the bill sponsor, told the committee the mile markers are intended to shorten emergency response times on the 32‑mile scenic stretch that often lacks cell service. "This beautiful, hilly and treacherous road runs through the heart of the White Mountains where there is no cell service and no radio service," Stringham said, adding emergency responders sometimes must search for accident sites when callers can only give vague landmarks.

The bill, as amended, would allow the Department of Transportation to place reference location signs (mile markers) at two‑tenths‑mile intervals, install double‑faced signs on one side of the road, and extend the project scope from Bath through Conway where efficient. Lee Baronis, state traffic engineer for the New Hampshire Department of Transportation, described the signs as "reference location signs" and explained they could be funded through Federal Highway programs such as the Highway Safety Improvement Program or possibly the Federal Lands Access Program. Baronis cautioned that the project would likely displace other programmed safety work within the constrained federal funds portfolio and noted potential tradeoffs including visual impacts on a scenic roadway and reduced visibility where snow banks occur.