An Interstate 89 construction project that caused long delays for some commuters will conclude by the end of November.
The New Hampshire Department of Transportation project rebuilt and widened the twin I-89 bridges over the Connecticut River between Lebanon and Hartford, which were originally built in 1966. Dacre Bush, a communications specialist with NHDOT, told the Valley News the multiyear project will conclude by the end of November.
The $43 million project aimed to improve safety and preserve the structural integrity of the existing bridges, according to a bridge rehabilitation study for the project. Work began in 2020 and was originally scheduled to wrap up in September 2025, but delays from working in the river pushed it back.
Brian Vincent, Lebanon’s city engineer, wrote to the Valley News that NHDOT does not expect more ramp closures before the project wraps up. Exit 20 has reopened, and traffic has eased, he wrote.
For a few days in October, NHDOT closed the northbound on-ramp and southbound off-ramp to Exit 20 on I-89, though not simultaneously, for work crews to complete repairs. That exit is on the city’s designated detour for a yearlong construction project on the nearby dry bridge connecting Main Street to the shopping plazas near Route 12A in West Lebanon. During Exit 20 closures, NHDOT directed drivers to Exit 19, which is also on the dry bridge detour. The other common route from Main Street to the shopping plazas is Glen Road, which has a one-way underpass where traffic must alternate.
Together, the closures caused long delays, especially on Miracle Mile near Exit 19.
Aaron Plotkin owns Plotkin Fitness at 443 Miracle Mile. He described the traffic on the thoroughfare as “bumper-to-bumper” and “a standstill.”
In late October, Plotkin said the drive from the Exit 19 off-ramp to his gym, just under a mile, often took 15 minutes around 4:45 p.m.
“We definitely experienced a lot of congestion,” Plotkin said.
Vincent wrote that NHDOT coordinated with the city ahead of the closures and provided police details when appropriate.
He wrote that Miracle Mile and Glen Road were the most congested in the fall. City officials had heard of, and experienced, delays, he wrote.
For the same interstate construction project, NHDOT briefly closed the I-89 northbound to I-91 northbound ramp, and the I-91 northbound Exit 10A off-ramp, in Hartford. During a different period, NHDOT used a rolling roadblock to slow traffic between Exit 10A in Hartford and Exit 20 in Lebanon.
Though NHDOT will finish its project by the end of the month, the city does not expect to complete dry bridge reconstruction until September 2027. The $14.3 million replacement involves demolishing the deteriorating span and building a new one.
The city posted a construction update for the bridge in the city’s weekly newsletter Thursday. That day, crews poured 362 cubic yards of concrete for one of the new bridge abutments. Pedestrians and cyclists can still travel on the footbridge, though the update repeated the advisory that cyclists should dismount and walk their bikes across the bridge. The contractor will continue installing sheet piles for the cofferdams, according to the newsletter.
