LEBANON — The long-planned demolition on the former Phnom Penh building on High Street was in full swing Tuesday morning to make way for a new roundabout at the intersection of High Street, Mechanic Street and Mascoma Street.
The roundabout is one of several city construction projects set for this spring.
Demolition work on the former Phnom Penh building will likely continue through Wednesday, said City Engineer Rod Finley.
The work is not expected to impact traffic because it is mostly confined within the former Phnom Penh parking lot, but drivers should use caution in the area, according to a city alert.
New utility poles are scheduled to go in at the intersection around April 1 and construction of the roundabout itself is expected to start in late April, Finley said Tuesday. There will be traffic disruptions throughout the project as crews build out the roundabout in phases.
The project has been in the works for more than a decade after a 2013 study found that a roundabout would be safer and more functional than the existing three-way intersection. That study wrapped up and the City Council voted to move forward with a roundabout in 2018. Since then, the Public Works Department has been planning the project along with the state, which had to take the property at 1 High Street by eminent domain, causing delays.
Phnom Penh closed its doors in Lebanon on Valentine’s Day in anticipation of the demolition and is expected to reopen at 129 Mechanic St. this summer. Its White River Junction location remains open.
An active construction season
It will be a busy spring and summer for public works projects in Lebanon.
Construction on the $3.86 million roundabout is scheduled to start in phases after work wraps up on Main Street and Tracy Street in West Lebanon, where crews spent the fall completing drainage work, paving and installing curbs and sidewalks.
The $3.2 million West Lebanon project is scheduled to resume in April. Crews still have to put in decorative lights, trees and landscaping, complete a final coat of paving and work on the stop lights at the Tracy Street intersection near the West Lebanon fire station, Finley said.
Crews are expected to start prep work and demolition of two houses near the South Main Street dry bridge early next week to make way for the, even longer-awaited, replacement of the bridge that connects Main Street West Lebanon to Route 12A.
The $14.34 million project was delayed for years because of challenges securing state and federal funding and disagreements over bridge design. Negotiations with the New England Central Railroad, which leases the tracks below the bridge, also held up the project until the City Council agreed last summer to close the bridge to traffic during construction.
Two-way traffic will be allowed across the so-called dry bridge through this portion of the project, according to an alert from the city. The city is expected to close the bridge for demolition for about a year starting in September.
Construction is also expected to start on a sidewalk extension between Slayton Hill Road and 195 Mechanic Street near the American Legion building around May, Finley added.
The Department of Public Works posts regular updates on city projects and construction impacts online through the LebAlert system.