Newington, NH (August 14, 2026) – An injury wreck was reported on the southbound Exit 3 off-ramp of the Spaulding Turnpike on Thursday morning, August 13, according to a traffic alert. The crash was reported around 10:57 a.m.
Drivers were urged to avoid the area and use alternate routes while crews worked. Details about the vehicles involved and the extent of the injuries were not immediately available.
Our thoughts are with those who may have been affected.
Why Do Off-Ramp Crashes Usually Cause Bigger Backups Than Highway Crashes?
An off-ramp typically narrows down to a single lane, which means a blocked ramp can trap every vehicle trying to exit behind it, with no way to pass. Unlike a multi-lane highway, there’s frequently no room for traffic to shift around the obstruction.
Drivers who don’t realize the ramp is blocked until they’re already committed to exiting have few options besides waiting it out. This can create a backup that extends onto the highway itself, since vehicles queuing for the ramp have nowhere else to go.
Clearing an off-ramp also requires care from responding crews, since the confined space leaves less room to work safely around passing traffic. This combination of limited space and trapped vehicles is part of why a ramp closure can cause delays out of proportion to the size of the crash itself.
