Construction will start on Black Brook Road between Tirrell Hill Road and East Dunbarton Road in early April. All work will be completed by the Department of Public Works and our subcontractors. A public informational meeting will be held at the Tirrell Hill Fire Station on Tuesday 4/5/16 at 6pm for local residents within the work zone. The DPW Director, Adam Jacobs, will go over the preliminary plans with residents and answer questions.
DPW suggests using the attached detour route during construction as delays should be expected. Residents within the work zone will be allowed in and out as needed but should also expect delays.
If you have any questions feel free to contact Meghan Theriault, Town Engineer at 497-3617 x 280 or via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. If you would like to be on the email distribution list for this project please contact Adam Jacobs, DPW Director via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
** For more updates and photos you can also check us out on Facebook **
5/20/16 - We are wrapping up our work on Paige Hill Road and will be tying up some loose ends before moving into Black Brook. Right now our plan is to start work on June 7th, likely on the Tirrell Hill end of the project. We will be establishing a detour for the duration of the project through Lindsey Way and Tirrell Hill/East Dunbarton Rd. The project area of Black Brook between Tirrell Hill and East Dunbarton Roads will be local traffic only daily (Tue-Fri 6:45am-4:15pm). You should also see the contracted tree service on Black Brook in the next couple weeks to remove the trees that were flagged a few weeks ago.
6/6/16 - Work will begin tomorrow (Tuesday) on Black Brook Road. General scope of work includes drainage improvements and reclaim of existing pavement, with some correction to road geometry at both Tirrell Hill Rd and East Dunbarton Rd intersections. Minor fill areas at low points in the roadway with unsuitable road base. New base asphalt and gravel shoulders in 2016, wearing course of asphalt in 2017. Roadside trees have been removed as necessary to support drainage, ditches, slopes, and roadway realignments. Anticipate project wrapping up in late July. The road will be open to residents only between Tirrell Hill Rd and East Dunbarton Rd. A detour will be established for thru traffic via Lindsey Way for the duration of the project. The work zone will be active Tue-Fri from around 6:45am – 4:15pm.
6/10/16 - Not a bad first week on the job site, and mother nature cooperated for the most part. We had a sinkhole on Mast Road in Pinardville that took away some of our crew the last few days. Hopefully that will be wrapped up next week and we can have two crews working on Black Brook. Despite the single crew, we were able to install about 1200 feet of 6” under drain pipe and over 100 feet of 12” drain pipe. Tree cutting also resumed today in the section between Pollard and Tirrell Hill. Looking ahead to next week, drainage pipe installations will continue, and the precast concrete drainage structures should start arriving soon as well. Tree cutting will also continue for a few more days. We don’t have a set timeline yet for reclaim of the pavement, hopefully we’ll get some more info next week from Continental.
6/17/16 - We are into the phase of the project where the road gets worse before it gets better. Nearly 500’ of perforated under drain pipe and over 150’ of drain pipe was installed this week, in addition to 6 drainage structures. You’ll notice that a good portion of the road now has pavement removed on one side or the other as a result. Tree work continued, and we started removing some of the stumps (some of them pretty massive). Next week will continue pipe and structure installations, and more stumping and slope/ditchline work.
6/24/16 - This week has progressed nicely, with just under 1000’ of drainage pipe and underdrain installed, along with 7 precast drainage structures and headwalls. John C. Brown removed some trees near the intersection of Pollard Road, and we continued to remove stumps and haul them away. Next week will consist of much of the same. We should wrap up drainage work, and be close to complete with stump work. There will be a few street crossings and driveway culverts to swap out; we’ll keep local traffic (#3 to #136 Black Brook) in the loop as much as possible to limit access disruptions. Slope work will also continue, and layout for reclamation and fill areas is on the horizon after the holiday. Thank you for your continued patience during construction.
7/8/16 - We continued to chug along on the project over the last few days, although with the holiday and related coverage our crews were a little smaller than normal. Cleanup and reshaping work has begun at the East Dunbarton Road intersection. All structures, pipe, and under drain have been installed, with the exception of one culvert crossing. Construction of the non-precast concrete culvert pipe inlet headwalls has begun as well. Stump removal and slope grubbing continues. We almost made it through the drainage installation without running into ledge…almost. If you were within earshot, please accept my apologies for the incessant hammering into the early evening yesterday. Once the ledge is exposed it’s much more efficient and less expensive to keep the rental hammer working until it’s gone. I think we’ve seen the last of the hard stuff (rock-wise, anyway) for this job.
Looking ahead: Right now, we’ve received word from the paving contractor that they will be in town next week to reclaim (grind up) the pavement. We’ll be following right behind with a grader, but this is the stage when driveway connections can vary between smooth and rough throughout the day. We’ll work with you as needed to get in and out on the day of the reclaim, and will have everything at least tapered in by the end of each day. Please let us know if you experience or anticipate any difficulty though. We’ll continue working on the new intersection, and the fill sections/rough grading throughout next week. Early indications are that we might have new pavement the last week of the month, if not sooner.
7/15/16 - Pavement was reclaimed this week and we have begun the process of shaping the roadway and flattening out a couple cut and fill areas. We will continue this work next week, as well as continue with the construction of the new intersection. Drainage has been extended, and tree removal and fill of that area has already begun. Still waiting on a firm date for paving. Until then, enjoy the suddenly smooth ride on your temporary gravel road!
7/25/16 - Last week the project focus was spreading new gravel as a base for the new pavement, and filling in a couple low areas or “sags” in the roadway. The East Dunbarton Road intersection was shaped and laid out, and the roadway was rough graded. We still do not have a date for paving, but I expect to hear something this week and will pass it along as soon as I do. Until then we will continue with slope and shoulder work, of which there is plenty.
Another item of potential interest to this group: At the recommendation of the Highway Safety Committee, the Select Board are holding the first of two public hearings this evening at 7pm regarding the codification of vehicle and traffic ordinances. One of the proposed ordinances is a new 3-way stop at the intersection of Black Brook and East Dunbarton Road. If approved, the new markings and stop signs will be installed as part of this project.
http://www.goffstown.com/calendar/public-hearings/view/8218/date/2016-07-25.html
7/26/16 - The paving contractor arrived in town today to perform the fine grading of the roadway. They are scheduled to be in tomorrow mid-morning to lay the base pavement. We will work to smooth out the driveway edges after the paving crew moves through, and will be following through with shoulder gravel starting Thursday or Friday. Driveway apron paving is still TBD.
8/5/16 - This week was a busy one, as we worked on some of the less glamorous parts of the project that need to happen after base paving. The road shouldering has been done, which helps support the new pavement and adds some safety for cars that might leave the road edge. Drainage structures all need to be brought up to the new finished road height, which requires the pavement be saw cut and precast structures raised with new frames and grates added to make proper inlets. Looking into next week and beyond: Slope and loam work continues, and will be much of the focus going forward. Mailboxes will be reset to proper height and distance off the road, if necessary. Driveways need to be tied in to the new pavement, and they are being saw cut and prepped. Stone wedges have been placed where there are any abrupt transitions, but please let me or the crew know if you have any issues with bottoming out before we can return to pave the new aprons. There are two steeper sections near water that will receive guardrail, but the contractor has not set a date for that yet. Pavement markings will occur closer to the end of the project and we won’t be tracking all over them.
If things get quiet for a couple days, have no fear. We may send part or most of the crew across town to assist with the Worthley Hill project for a couple days to ensure it is ready for bus traffic in a couple weeks. Hopefully you have had a chance to enjoy the new ride, we anticipate finishing all the loam and slope work and wrapping up the project before the end of the month.
8/12/16 - Hopefully this update finds you somewhere with a/c, or floating on a lazy river someplace! As promised, we moved our crew off the job at the end of this week to help get the Worthley Hill Road project ready for paving next week. Before they left, we were able to get some slope work done and get drainage structures and driveways set for paving. The guardrail contractor also was in town to install the new sections of rail near the water on both this year and last year’s phases.
The crew should be back in your neighborhood next week to continue with the work and get things ready for driveway and berm paving. The Select Board also will be voting on the updated traffic ordinances at their 8/22 meeting; if approved as proposed, the new stop signs could be installed at the East Dunbarton Road intersection as early as 8/23. If you haven’t already done so, please check us out and “like” our Facebook page. I’m biased, but it’s a great place to get project pictures and updates about other goings-on in town. https://www.facebook.com/GoffstownDPW/
Thanks again for your patience with the project, we’re getting close!
We are in the homestretch!
Thanks again for your continued support with the project
9/2/16 - This will likely be the last project update for Black Brook Road for this year! This week the crew worked on finish loam and seed, layout and signage for the new all-way stop intersection at East Dunbarton Road, and mailbox resets. Today the crew is working on base paving driveways and around drainage structures, the paving contractor’s schedule did not allow them to return as we had hoped. They are now set to arrive on Tuesday to pave the top 1.5” of asphalt driveways, in addition to the areas that are to receive asphalt berm/cape cod curbing. I expect to remove the detour on Tuesday afternoon. The pavement marking contractor is set to return to town in two weeks to paint as well.
The wearing course paving of this final phase will be performed in summer of 2017, to allow any possible settlement or seasonal heaving to show itself before the final layer of asphalt is applied. If we’ve done our job properly, the spring heave should be all but eliminated…
It’s been a pleasure working with your neighborhood, and if you have any lingering questions or concerns don’t hesitate to ask. We will be sending out post-construction surveys soon, your feedback would be much appreciated and help us with future projects.
