Lyme
The agreement with Lyme attorney and farmer Arend Tensen is expected to end a legal battle over plans to redirect the road through his property. The town had sought to take 5.6 acres through eminent domain to reconnect the road, which was partially closed to traffic in 2015 because of structural problems caused by erosion from the nearby Connecticut River.
Under the deal, Lyme will pay $87,500 for an easement through 3.7 acres of Tensen’s 52-acre parcel along the road. It also expects to pay $511,000 to build the new portion of road, which could be open to traffic by 2019, according to the town’s website.
“I am very pleased with the final outcome of this matter that resolves this long dispute with the town, including an eminent domain action brought against me by the town,” Tensen said in an email on Tuesday.
“Most notable is that this resolution is a win not only for me, but for the town as well because this option will cost less than half the (town’s plan) with far less impact on farmland and wildlife,” he added. “It also ends the legal battle, which the town was going to lose.”
Tensen and the town have been at odds over plans to build a roughly 2,350-foot connection from River Road through his property to East Thetford Road.
Residents approved the proposal during Lyme’s 2017 Town Meeting, voting, 161-148, to appropriate $755,000 for the project and leading to eminent domain proceedings. Meanwhile, Tensen has argued the project would cut his land in half, harming the surrounding environment and his business.
In January, he presented an alternative that sought instead to build a 1,200-foot bypass through some of his lands, which would connect both ends of undamaged portions of River Road.
And about a month later, Tensen and town officials announced they reached a tentative deal to move River Road about 50 feet to the east through ledge that would be fractured by boring holes into the rock and inserting an expandable material. At the time, Tensen and David Roby, who owns development rights to the property, offered to donate 1.5 acres needed for the project.
Tensen said on Tuesday that those plans weren’t feasible, but the current project would amount to a similar bypass taking shape. Tensen also said he sought payment because more of his acreage was required for construction of the new route.
The first phase of construction, which is ongoing, seeks to stabilize part of the existing River Road for future use as a pedestrian and bike path, according to Erin Darrow, owner of Right Angle Engineering, the New London-based firm working on the project.
Crews will then turn to building a bypass about 80 feet from the road, cutting into the slope to provide a more stable surface, she said.
“We’re hoping to get the road open for traffic this year,” Darrow said. “I’m not sure if that’s going to be feasible or not. It will probably be going until the spring of next year.”
The deal is contingent on support from the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, which is awaiting results from archeological and plant studies at the site, said Selectboard Chairwoman Sue MacKenzie, who lives on River Road.
“They’re primed and ready to start the minute we get permits, and time is of the essence,” MacKenzie said of Stewartstown, N.H.,-based contractor Northern New England Fields Services.
Until that work actually begins, MacKenzie said, she’s maintaining cautious optimism that a solution is in sight.
“It’s been such a long, hard-fought battle that I’m not going to be convinced it’s going to happen until it happens,” she said on Tuesday.
Other River Road residents also said they’re hopeful the deal will result in a concrete solution. To get to Lyme’s town center, some residents have to drive roughly 5 miles south to Route 10 in Hanover before then heading north.
The drive has worried some who feel cutoff from emergency services, said River Road resident Steve Rich.
“If you’ve got a house fire, you’re going to lose it,” he said on Tuesday. “To me, it’s a safety issue more than anything.”
Fuel trucks and other services also have a difficult time getting to some residents, he said, adding neighbors are hopeful the agreement reached with Tensen finally will resolve the issue.
John Stadler, another River Road resident, said that he is “delighted” with the possibility of a reopened road.
“The idea of when it’s done, being able to get to town in just a few minutes as opposed to 20, is great,” he said. “We’re really happy at the possibility that this will be a solution.”
Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.