WEST LEBANON — Lane and ramp closures surrounding the Interstate-89 interchange causing traffic backups will continue through Thursday as part of a multiyear bridge replacement project.
During the holiday weekend, the road work will pause.
The Interstate 89 Exit 20 southbound off-ramp will be closed between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on either Wednesday or Thursday to facilitate paving of the ramp, according to the New Hampshire Department of Transportation.
The closure follows delays that began Monday, when state officials closed one southbound lane of Interstate 89 near Exit 20 in West Lebanon, as previously reported by the Valley News.
The northbound ramp at Interstate 91 Exit 10A in White River Junction was initially kept open. Now, the exit will “probably have to close” on Wednesday, said Andrew Silovich, a contract administrator with the department.
The department expects the Interstate 89 Exit 20 southbound off-ramp to be closed for one day and to reopen once paving is complete.
Traffic will be detoured south on I-89 to Exit 19 in Lebanon to reverse direction onto I-89 northbound, where the Exit 20 northbound off-ramp can be used.
“Road users should remain alert while traveling through the construction zone and obey all posted signs,” a department news release stated.
The roughly $46 million project to replace the bridge, which began in 2020, is slated for completion this fall, officials with the New Hampshire Department of Transportation said in July.
The original completion date for the project was September 2025. Environmental factors pushed the timetable for the bridge work back.
“Some delays with working in the river, dealing with ice flows … got the dirt work and paving side kind of out of sequence,” Silovich said in a phone interview on Tuesday.
Work crews will be off the road for Labor Day weekend, he said.
“As of right now, barring any major catastrophe, there won’t be any lane closures up here Friday, and we won’t be back on the road until either Tuesday afternoon, more than likely Wednesday morning,” he said.
To keep up with roadway delays, visit newengland511.org.
