Stevens To Press For Immediate Action After Another Crash On Route 111 In Salem

CONCORD, NH — In response to yet another serious accident, this time involving a motorcyclist, at the intersection of Route 111 and Ermer Road in Salem, Executive Councilor Janet Stevens is urging immediate action be taken to protect motorists, motorcyclists, and pedestrians.

Stevens will meet with New Hampshire Department of Transportation Commissioner William Cass and Salem officials on August 5 to discuss short-term and immediate improvements at the intersection, as identified in a 2017 Road Safety Audit and a recent engineering study, as well as expediting the proposed intersection improvement.

These talks come on the heels of a long string of advocacy for road safety by Executive Councilor Stevens, who also serves on the Governor’s Advisory Commission for Intermodal Transportation and oversees 68 transportation infrastructure projects for District 3, exceeding $700 million.

“Five of the 11 most dangerous roadways in New Hampshire are located within my district, and I take the safety of all those traveling through these corridors extremely seriously,” Stevens said. “Upon learning of the most recent accident from a Salem Town Council member, I immediately contacted the Office of Highway Safety, Commissioners at the New Hampshire Departments of Transportation and Public Safety, and local officials, including the Salem Town Manager, and reviewed the State Police crash data.”

The Route 111 and Ermer Road intersection in Salem is a Local Public Agency project. These agreements, between the State and local public agencies, delineate the responsibilities for providing services necessary to manage the design and construction of a state- or federally-funded, locally managed project under the applicable provisions of state and federal law.

The intersection, which has long been a point of concern, was the subject of a comprehensive engineering study presented in January 2025 by the engineering firm VHB. The study evaluated nine safety alternatives and ultimately recommended a roundabout for the intersection. Councilor Stevens is now calling for the urgent consideration of short-term measures from the study, possibly including:

• Prohibition of left-turn and through movements on Ermer Road
• Lane reduction on Ermer Road (from two lanes to one)

“While these options were not top-ranked in the long-term solution set, I believe both warrant serious reconsideration as short-term measures and look forward to discussing alternatives with the NHDOT and Salem officials,” said Stevens. “With increased speeding, distracted driving, and impaired motorists on our roads, we cannot afford to wait for the full construction of a proposed roundabout before taking action.”

In addition, the 2017 Road Safety Audit provided short-term recommendations, such as law enforcement saturation and radar speed feedback signage, as well as medium-term measures, including the installation of directional islands on Ermer Road to permit only right turns onto Route 111.

Councilor Stevens emphasized that the Town of Salem had previously requested low-cost, interim safety improvements in a memo dated October 16, 2023, noting that such measures could yield meaningful safety benefits while longer-term solutions are developed.

In her outreach to state and local officials, Stevens also raised the need to:

• Reassess the intersection using updated traffic data—the Average Annual Daily Traffic was 15,300 in 2017, 15,774 in 2022, and increased to 17,369 in for 2024 (NHDOT Traffic Maps).
• Reevaluate results of the intersection engineering study, which utilized 2009 criteria from the—Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), which was recently updated and re-released on July 3. This revision could possibly support a signalized intersection.

“As we continue working toward a permanent fix, we must also identify and implement immediate, evidence-based actions to prevent further tragedy at this intersection,” Stevens concluded.

Executive Councilor Janet Stevens of Rye represents the 266,000 residents living in District Three, which encompasses the cities and towns of - Atkinson, Brentwood, Chester, Danville, Derry, E. Kingston, Epping, Exeter, Fremont, Greenland, Hampstead, Hampton, Hampton Falls, Kensington, Kingston, New Castle, Newfields, Newington, Newmarket, Newton, No. Hampton, Pelham, Plaistow, Raymond, Rye, Salem, Sandown, Seabrook, South Hampton, Stratham, Windham and the City of Portsmouth.

Submitted by Janet Stevens