New Hampshire officials are gathering public input on the state's next 10-year transportation improvement plan, which outlines more than $4.5 billion in roadwork projects.
Residents of the Monadnock region of southwestern New Hampshire have been given three opportunities in October to weigh in on local projects included in the plan.
New Hampshire Executive Councilor David Wheeler, who represents District 5 (which covers most of the Monadnock region), hosted a hearing on Oct. 8 at the Hillsborough Fire Station and plans to hold another at the Jaffrey Fire Station on Oct. 15. His colleague, Executive Councilor Karen Liot Hill, also has scheduled a meeting at the Peterborough Town Library on Oct. 22.
Among the key projects open for comment is the long-delayed bridge replacement at U.S. Highway 202 and N.H. Highway 123 over the Contoocook River in Peterborough. The upgrade is budgeted at nearly $24.5 million, with construction set to begin in 2028. The town also is due to receive a stone box rehabilitation or replacement under U.S. 202 at a cost of $2.5 million.
Overall, the Monadnock region is set to receive roughly $65 million over the next decade, the Ledger-Transcript in Peterborough reported Oct. 6.
Many roadwork projects across New Hampshire have been either partially or entirely removed from the plan, Liot Hill said, and no new projects were accepted this year due to a $400 million shortfall in state and federal funds. The Monadnock area made it out relatively unscathed as no current projects were stripped.
State leaders are exploring a road toll and gas tax hike to ease the deficit.
Tolls in New Hampshire are the lowest cost per mile in the country, a state transportation official said at a previous hearing, and have not been raised since 2007. Increasing them would require approval by the executive council.
The state's gas tax — currently set at 23.83 cents per gallon of fuel — has not risen since 2014.
"The cost of projects has only increased in that time and, in recent years, very significantly," Liot Hill told the Ledger-Transcript. "The funds that were allocated are not … completing as much of the work as they were originally intended to do, and so that's why we're in the deficit and that's why we're interested to hear what people think about how to close that deficit."
Liot Hill also said New Hampshire is on the hook for millions of dollars each year to pay loans it took out for transportation upgrades years ago. That, combined with decades without fee increases and skyrocketing construction costs, has put the state government in its current predicament.
After soliciting feedback, the state Department of Transportation (NHDOT) will submit the 10-year plan to the Legislature for approval next year. Following that, it will go into effect in 2027.
Several Monadnock Region Roads, Bridges Due for Fixes
Here are the Monadnock-area projects included in the state's 10-year plan:
• Hillsborough is to see bridge work on N.H. 149 over the Contoocook River, a project worth $5.7 million, in addition to a $2.1 million effort to replace the community's Bog Road bridge over Sand Brook.
• Four projects totaling $4.8 million are on the drawing board for the town of Antrim and its surrounding villages, including road work on N.H. 9 in several areas throughout Antrim, Hillsborough and Stoddard. In addition, crews will work on a $1.5 million project set for Antrim's Red List bridge on N.H. Route 31 over Steel Pond Brook; build a $2.1 million bridge replacement on Liberty Farm Road over North Branch River; and make $1.9 million in safety improvements to crosswalks and sidewalks on U.S. 202 and N.H. 31.
• In Greenfield, a $1.5 million bridge replacement on School House Road over a stream is slated to be built.
• Another Red List bridge carrying railroad tracks over Glass Factory Road will be erected in Lyndeborough at a cost of $365,500.
• Safety improvements worth $9.1 million to N.H. 101 in Wilton, Milford, Amherst and Bedford are scheduled to be made.
• Four additional projects also are proposed for the town of Wilton: The replacement of a small bridge to carry Old County Farm Road over Blood Brook ($174,204); a pair of new pedestrian bridges over Stony Brook at the Wilton Riverwalk ($1 million) and across the Souhegan River ($1.1 million), the latter of which will connect Riverside Way and Howard Street; and a $2 million bridge replacement on Temple Road over Blood Brook.
• In New Ipswich, the state wants to spend $2 million to replace the Taylor Road bridge over the West Brook stretch of the Souhegan River.
• Bridge work totaling $2.6 million also is planned on U.S. 202 over Mountain Brook and Contoocook River in Jaffrey.
