This section of the F.E. Everett Turnpike is the next phase of the widening project. Work has begun on the section stretching from Exit 12 north to the existing three-lane section about a mile south of the Bedford toll plaza.
This section of the F.E. Everett Turnpike is the next phase of the widening project. Work has begun on the section stretching from Exit 12 north to the existing three-lane section about a mile south of the Bedford toll plaza.
NHDOT
MERRIMACK — Representatives of the state Department of Transportation and the firm with which the state is partnering for the upcoming F.E. Everett Turnpike widening project brought about 50 residents and town officials up to date on the plan this week.
The roughly 40-minute public meeting, preceded by an informal “open house” to allow attendees to study enlarged versions of the diagrams that were posted around the meeting room, focused on the Merrimack portion of the three-segment project, which involves replacing the Baboosic Lake Road and Wire Road bridges and widening the turnpike from Exit 11 through Exit 12.
The proposed widening will add a third travel lane in both directions, aiming to alleviate northbound bottlenecks that occur when traffic must merge into two lanes just north of Exit 11, according to the proposal.
As for the bridges, both are currently on the state’s “red list,” meaning that inspections show they have at least one major structural element in poor condition.
The Merrimack work is the middle of the three turnpike segments that will undergo widening and bridge work as part of the overall 12-mile project, which begins in Nashua and extends to the Route 293-Route 101 interchange in Bedford.
Wendy Johnson, the project manager, said turnpike toll revenue is funding the project under the state’s Turnpike Capital Program.
The cost of the Merrimack segment is roughly $22.5 million, she said.
Brian Colburn, a representative of McFarland-Johnson, the firm that the state hired for the project, said the work on the bridges is scheduled to begin in fall 2025, and crews will be working on both bridges at the same time.
The Baboosic Lake Road work will likely command the most attention, given its proximity to schools, Town Hall, the district courthouse and police headquarters.
A temporary two-lane bridge will be constructed just south of the existing bridge, Colburn said, and once traffic is shifted from the existing bridge the replacement work will get underway.
Meanwhile, a temporary bridge is unnecessary for the Wire Road site, as motorists can continue using the current bridge while crews are building the new bridge nearby, according to officials.
The proposal includes significant upgrades at both bridge sites, Colburn said. The plans call for widening the shoulders of the road as well as reconstructing and widening sidewalks and installing bicycle lanes.
Sidewalks will be especially welcome for Wire Road pedestrians, where the 2-foot sidewalks will be widened to 5 feet with a bike lane.
Just a handful of residents posed questions following the presentation. One of them was Malcolm Paradise, whose property on Drake Lane abuts the Wire Road construction site.
Of Baboosic Lake Road, Paradise said the section “from the light at Daniel Webster Highway to the bridge” has long been problematic.
“We’ve had problems with the road for a long time,” he said, suggesting that “this is the time to make (Baboosic Lake Road) three or four lanes, and give us turning lanes going onto school property.
“We’ll have to do it in maybe five years anyway,” Paradise added, urging officials to consider doing that work sooner than later.
