One highway exit at a time, a local man plans to bring his I-93 tolls protest to Concord.

Salem resident Edward DeClercq kicked off his grassroots campaign Jan. 15 at Exit 1, not far from the Cross Street overpass. A handful of residents joined DeClercq holding signs decrying tolls for passing motorists near where the state would erect its border crossing.

DeClercq isn’t slowing down. A second protest is planned for next week, likely at the Exit 2 park-and-ride. He wants to take his show on the road. DeClercq believes commuters from Salem to Concord are the key to killing the toll plan.

Many already spend more than an hour commuting each way, every day, and slowing down to pay to cross the Massachusetts border would be an unwelcome aggravation, according to DeClercq.

“There is a huge contingent that travel southbound to Boston everyday. If you look on the southbound lane between 6 and 8 in the morning, I can safely say 90 percent of that traffic is New Hampshire people,” he said. “I can almost guarantee you’ve got 90 percent or better of commuters and those are the people it’s going to hurt.”

Though state Department of Transportation Commissioner George Campbell’s meeting with selectmen last month – where the topic of tolling motorists near Exit 1 was first raised – kicked off a firestorm of debate locally, DeClercq worries residents in nearby towns aren’t as aware of the possibility of tolls on I-93.

If waving signs at commuters heading south on a chilly winter morning or back north on a quickly darkening afternoon is what it takes to get the word out, DeClercq is ready for it. There are already signs residents in other towns are taking notice. DeClercq has received phone calls of support from folk in Derry and Londonderry, and last week received encouragement from members of a Republican political group in Windham, he said.

Jeff Hatch, who joined DeClercq protesting tolls on Jan. 15, believes a grass-roots coalition of residents speaking out is forming. They’re writing letters, calling legislators and talking to friends and family, he said.

“We have to start contacting members of all of our little groups,” said Hatch, chairman of Salem’s Republican Town Committee. “It’s not just here in Salem, it’s just not a Republican thing, not a Democrat thing. This is an issue that people need to be involved in. They need to say, ‘We don’t want to put up with this.’”

The challenge is spreading the word and getting the message heard in Concord, said DeClercq. While Salem’s selectmen have sent state officials a letter voicing opposition to tollbooths, DeClercq believes a groundswell of dissent from across southern New Hampshire is what it will take to compel Concord officials to reconsider.

“I believe up in Concord, they are listening to us,” DeClercq said. “We’re making them aware of what’s going down here. It’s not just the selectmen or a chamber of commerce, it’s the citizens.”