By KATY SAVAGE
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Warmer weather has brought the start of roadwork projects and officials are warning drivers to expect delays in construction zones.
A three-year project extending about 3 miles from Main Street in North Walpole to Route 12 in Charlestown began this week with lane closures expected every day of construction.
The project will widen the road from about 25 feet to an average of 32 feet. Each lane will be 11 feet with 4-to 5-foot-wide shoulders when done.
“If you drive down the road right now, it’s very uneven,” said Ron Guyette of the New Hampshire Department of Transportation.
He explained the expansion is needed because the Connecticut River eroded the slope.
“There is not a lot of width there between the road and the bridge,” said Guyette.
The $14.8 million project is slated to be done Aug. 28, 2020.
A $9.5 million repaving project in Vermont, extending 38 miles on Route 103 from Rockingham to Ludlow, is scheduled to begin April 30.
Natalie Boyle, a spokesperson for the project, said the roadwork will be “fast moving,” but there could be up to four different construction areas the length of the road, limiting travel to one lane.
Boyle said someone traveling the length of the road should add seen to 10 minutes to their commute.
“It’s a pretty big project,” she said.
Boyle said there will be surface grinding in several areas before repaving begins.
The project is scheduled to last into the fall, with an end date of Oct. 26.
Meanwhile, Ludlow is also getting a new traffic signal at the intersection of routes 103 and 100.
Construction for the $616,932 project started this month and will be done this summer.
Vermont Agency of Transportation Regional Engineer Jace Curtis said numerous traffic studies showed heavy use of the intersection, mostly caused by winter traffic from the ski resorts.
Curtis said the new traffic signal will improve safety.
Improvements to four bridges in Sunapee, New Hampshire began this week. Two of the bridges are located on Route 11 while the other two are at the intersection of Route 11 and Route 103. The $1.8 million project will be done this fall.
Another $344,000 road project in Claremont to improve the curb and sidewalk at the intersection of Bowen Street starts in August and will be done next spring. Transportation officials said the traffic impact will be minimal.
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