PORTSMOUTH, N.H. (AP) – One of the New Hampshire executive councilors who voted to try the one-way toll experiment on Interstate 95 says she believes it goes the wrong way.

Ruth Griffin, R-Portsmouth, said that if she has to be stuck in weekend traffic on Interstate 95, she’d rather be stalled headed home, not on the way to vacation.

Under the plan, northbound drivers pay $2 – double the toll – at the Hampton Toll Plaza and southbound drivers ride free. Griffin said she told Gov. Craig Benson it would make more sense to switch that around.

“One of my concerns was that the local gentry did not have an opportunity to voice their concerns about this dramatic change. I also have extreme concerns with truck traffic diverting to alternate routes such as Route 125, Route 140, Route 33, and routes 1 and 1-A,” she wrote in a letter to her constituents.

“I feel that from a psychological point of view, people would not feel as rushed returning home as they would starting long weekends or vacations when they’re more anxious to reach their destinations.

“If I were heading north on my vacation, I certainly wouldn’t want to be stuck in traffic for an hour,” she said.

Griffin said she expects traffic statistics within the next several weeks will bear out her concerns.

As for statistics, DOT spokesman Bill Boynton told said the first weekend’s numbers show 8,000 more vehicles than usual traveled south, for free, but 8,000 fewer went north, when cars pay $2 instead of $1.

Boynton did not comment on concerns by local officials that many cars and trucks will leave the highway and head north on side roads to avoid the toll.

AP-ES-08-27-03 1607EDT

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