Claremont
If the plan for the 10-year period from 2019 to 2028 is adopted by the Legislature and signed into law next spring, the city could expect to see of a small bridge that carries Route 12A over the Sugar River in West Claremont rebuilt in 2022-2023 at an estimated cost of $6.9 million
In the years 2026 and 2027, the bridge over the Connecticut River to Ascutney would be renovated at a cost of $4 million under the plan
There is also $5.5 million in improvements for the airport spread out over the 10-year plan. However, most of that money would come from the Federal Aviation Administration.
Two other area projects include an $8 million reconstruction of Route 12A in South Charlestown along the Connecticut River, and replacement of Brook Bridge on Sand Hill Road in Newport.
A number of potential projects in the Newport area, including one on Route 11/103 and another on Route 10 toward Goshen, N.H., were not included in the plan, representatives with the Upper Valley Lake Sunapee Regional Planning Commission said.
The draft proposal was presented by the Governor’s Advisory Commission on Intermodal Transportation, which has been conducting public hearings around the state this fall with the plan going to the Legislature in January for review and revisions.
Peter Stammas, director of project development with DOT, gave a slide presentation on the plan, highlighting the department’s challenge of finding enough funding to maintain and repair the state’s roads and bridges.
Red listed bridges, or those in poor condition marked for additional inspections, continue to be a problem spot for the state, Stammas said.
“More bridges are coming on the red list than we can take off,” he said.
The presentation stated the number of state-owned red listed bridges has trended up over the past seven years with an average of 22 bridges added to the list each year and 21 being removed annually.
Those figures troubled resident Kyle Messier.
“I’m concerned about the lack of funding for red listed bridges,” Messier said. “Your presentation indicated that as years ago by, there are more and more red listed bridges. I don’t want to drive over unsafe bridges so I would be in favor of more funding.”
One of the strategies of the plan is to focus funding to address the backlog of red listed bridges, Stammas said.
Of the 140 red listed bridges, which represent about 6 percent of the state total of 2,158, the 10-year plan would address 135 of them. Additionally, the bridge preservation work would also look to extend the life of bridges.
A couple of attendees were disappointed that less than 1 percent of the $3.7 billion in the 10-year plan is earmarked for rail improvements, in light of the city’s ongoing efforts to increase ridership on the Amtrak train.
Stammas’ presentation also stated that 72 percent of the state’s roads are in “good or fair” condition, an improvement of 4 percent since 2014, following a decline in that percentage from 2000 to 2014.
One of the goals of the 10-year plan is “pavement preservation,” or work to prevent roads in good condition from deteriorating.
Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com
