I applaud the Monitor’s March 10 editorial on the proposed Interstate 93 widening, following “My Turn” columns from Mary Susan Leahy and Tim Sink.

As a longtime resident of Concord, I have always worked in Manchester (or at least have had an office there). For years I used to enjoy “one news, one weather and one sports” on my car radio while driving 18 minutes on my 14-mile commute.

But over the past 30-plus years the traffic, and thus the time, has been increasing, especially northbound on Thursdays and Fridays, and southbound on Sundays and Mondays.

This is especially the case when I forget it is Friday and absent-mindedly leave the Manchester office after 3 p.m. to head north on I-93 from Manchester. In the summer season, the backup often starts at the Hooksett tolls.

With a master’s degree in urban geography, these transportation challenges are not new to me. I have often thought (and suggested) the NHDOT consider traffic management by sorting the northbound vehicles on the three lanes from Hooksett to the top of the hill in Bow. The left-hand lane should be for through-traffic, the middle-lane for local Concord traffic (Exits 12, 13, 14 and 15) and the right-hand lane for I-89 northbound/Vermont traffic.

If folks adhered to this, it would improve the situation. How much? We cannot know until we try it.

The rub is still southbound traffic on I-89 wanting to go north on I-93. This very tight weave (especially with northbound I-93 traffic wanting to continue north on I-89) will still be a bottleneck. Some of it might be reduced by sending I-89 southbound vehicles down to the light at Route 3 and then left up to Exit 12 where they would merge onto I-93.

Not perfect, but perhaps an improvement.

The same concept applies to southbound traffic on I-93 – through traffic in the left lane and local traffic, including I-89 north, in the right lane. Even a small reduction in the number of vehicles “weaving” or maneuvering to get in the ultimate correct lane could speed things up.

This concept could be piloted with temporary signage as a test or trial (which is exactly what NHDOT did several years ago in their successful effort to slow down I-89 southbound traffic as it approached Exit 1, I-93 and Bow Junction).

It is great to get our visitors, tourists and neighbors through the city faster, but not at the cost of building a concrete transportation “Great Wall” that separates the Capital City’s downtown from the Merrimack River.

(Bill Norton lives in Concord.)