LEBANON — A long-planned sidewalk project aimed at improving pedestrian safety along Route 4 through the city is scheduled to begin construction this summer, but two portions of the work are still years away from completion.
The project aims to address a “hazardous” location, according to the project overview. Travel along the corridor, where Route 4 is also known as Mechanic Street, is required to access bus stops, Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital, Harvest Hill senior housing and the Miracle Mile commercial area north of Interstate 89.
“People without cars should be able to get to critical service areas and public recreation facilities safely,” stated the project overview.
Improving pedestrian access to Mechanic Street has been an area of emphasis since the 1990s, according to the project overview. The city’s 2012 master plan suggests improvements.
“A lot of people walk that corridor,” City Engineer Rod Finley said Monday by phone.
The city plans to install a sidewalk from the Rivermill bus stop to Poverty Lane, which includes 1.3 miles of Mechanic Street, with a stretch of sidewalk already existing within that area between Buckingham Place and the American Legion.
The first segment of sidewalk installation is scheduled to begin in May.
At a public hearing last week, the City Council allocated $250,000 in additional funds based on a 59% increased project cost.
The total amount of money previously allocated for the segment, $425,000 doesn’t cover it.
The total budget for the segment — 750 feet of sidewalk from the American Legion to Slayton Hill Road — is now $675,000. The cost translates to $900 per foot of sidewalk.
The Public Works Department requested that the city move money from other areas to fill in the funding gap.
The council transferred $140,000 from the water and sewer fund previously planned for the 2022 Mack Avenue Infrastructure Improvements Project and the Forest Avenue Reconstruction Project, and $68,000 from the Altaria-Route 120 Pedestrian and Bike Improvements Capital Project.
The city agreed to transfer the remaining $42,000 from the Public Works Department’s general fund.
During last week’s hearing, Councilor Eric Cole inquired about the possibility of cutting costs.
Public Works Director Jay Cairelli responded that times have changed since 13 years ago when the project was conceived.
“The day I started, the first project we talked about was almost a complete street for the same price, so it has gone up tremendously,” said Cairelli.
While contracting out an infrastructure project may be expensive, the Lebanon Public Works crew does not have the bandwidth to take it on.
It would take city employees longer to complete the project, as staff are better equipped for regular maintenance as opposed to sidewalk construction, Cairelli said. It would also force the department to neglect other projects throughout that portion of the summer.
“There’s no way we could do it in-house with everything else we plan on doing,” said Cairelli during the hearing.
The city awarded the project to White River Junction-based Notts Excavating, Inc. The project is slated to begin May 1 and be completed by July 24.
The crew will likely work on the site from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday. Short-term driveway closures are a possibility, said Finley, though the city would notify businesses.
“I’ve coordinated with all those people so we can maintain access to their business at all times,” said Finley.
Residents can expect traffic impacts, particularly alternating one-way traffic.
City officials are still working to find funding for two other segments of sidewalk along Mechanic Street.
One segment would add a sidewalk from the Rivermill bus stop to Slayton Hill Road. The overall cost is $2.5 million, but the New Hampshire Department of Transportation awarded a $2 million Transportation Alternatives Program federal grant to the city, so the city is on the hook for just $500,000 of the total cost.
The other segment involves installing sidewalks from Buckingham Place to Poverty Lane, including across the I-89 ramps at Exit 19.
The overall estimate for that segment is $1.6 million, but that project is unfunded at this time, said Finley at the hearing.
U.S. Rep. Maggie Goodlander, D-N.H., awarded the city a $250,000 earmark, which it may use for project design, he said.
“It would be a number of years before that would reach the point where it’s ready for construction, maybe 10 years out,” said Finley.
