News

City considers plan to improve dangerous intersection

By Patrick Adrian [email protected]
CLAREMONT — An 18-year-old plan to address a dangerous intersection in Claremont could begin construction in the next couple of years, according to state and local officials.

The New Hampshire Department of Transportation (NHDOT) and the City of Claremont held a joint public hearing Thursday night for the proposed road reconstruction around the intersection of Main Street and North Street along Highway 12 and New Hampshire Route 103.

The project, initially earmarked in 2002, aims to improve public safety along the corridor by shifting the main traffic continuity from Main Street onto North Street, creating wider turn lanes and wider shoulders for pedestrian and cyclist safety.

“This project has been around quite a long time and hopefully is coming to a conclusion,” said Gerald Coogan, chair of the project committee.

Since 2011 there have been a total of 77 vehicle collisions and 16 injuries around the junction of Main and North Streets, including 11 collisions and two injuries in the last 12 months, according to Greg Bakos of Vanasse Hangen Brustlin (VHB), a traffic consulting firm based in Bedford.

The documented safety concerns include the narrowness of the shoulders, the propensity for flooding near the intersection and limited visibility to approaching driveways and street entrances due to road curvatures and steep gradients, particularly at the bottom of North Street, Bakos said.

The $3.8 million project would widen road shoulders, in some cases from 4-5 feet to about 8-12 feet; elevate the roads in areas to prevent flooding and improve visibility; and most significantly, reconstruct the intersection to move the traffic continuity on Highway 12 to North Street, instead of Main Street.

Currently, incoming traffic from Vermont on Highway 12 would typically continue straight at this intersection onto Main Street, leading into the city center. Vehicles going to Washington Street turn left onto North Street.

Under the proposed restructuring, that incoming traffic would have a choice of either a left or right lane at the intersection, with the left lane heading to North Street and the right to Main Street. Vehicles approaching from Main Street will no longer have the right-of-way, though they will have a choice of a left or right turn lane.

Vehicles traveling from North Street onto Highway 12 would no longer need to stop for traffic. There would also be a left lane for vehicles turning onto Main Street.

The intersection would also be wider, particularly to accommodate trucks turning from North Street onto Main Street. According to Tom Krebs, city project manager, the city wants trucks delivering to the downtown to enter from this junction, which the widened intersection is meant to accommodate.

The project committee said the majority of the public’s questions would not be answered at this hearing, but would be discussed by the project team and answered in a written document. Some unanswered questions regarded street lighting and traffic signage; how travel will be impacted by the construction plan; and whether vehicles connecting from North Street to Highway 12 will be able to adequately see vehicles turning into Tractor Supply Co., whose entrance is near the intersection.

In response to a question regarding consideration of a traffic signal at this intersection, Bakos said the team found there was not a high enough traffic count to warrant a traffic signal.

Members of the Claremont Conservation Committee expressed concern about the project’s impact on the Stevens Brook conservation area, which was established in the city’s agreement with Tractor Supply Co.

To proceed with this project, the NHDOT must negotiate property acquisitions or temporary easements with 16 property owners. One of these properties is the conservation area.

“That land was set aside in perpetuity for conservation purposes and protection of natural resources,” said DeForest Bearse, a Conservation Committee member. “And it appears you are taking some chunks out of that. I don’t understand how that can just be taken for some other purpose.”

The team said they would need to answer that question later in writing. However, Adam Smith of the NHDOT said their department has historically been able to negotiate land agreements with property owners “90% of the time” without requiring an arbitration.

Additionally, the project team will be working closely with state environmental and wildlife agencies in numerous areas, including on a culvert replacement that opens into Stevens Brook.

Residents and stakeholders have 10 days after the public hearing to submit additional questions to the Department of Transportation. Questions may be sent to Peter Stamna, director of Project Development at the NHDOT, PO Box 483, Concord, NH 03302.

Officials say the project team meeting will be public and should be scheduled in about two months. The meeting will be posted in Claremont. The public may attend the meeting in person or access it electronically but will not be able to give testimony. The meeting participants will discuss the public’s questions and prepare responses in a written document.

Krebs projected that construction on the project could begin in 2022, depending on the negotiation process with land owners.

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