‘We count on that traffic’: Towns continue to bear the brunt of Route 12 closure

By Patrick Adrian
EAGLE TIMES STAFF
CHARLESTOWN — Charlestown businesses and local schools continue to shoulder the stresses from the ongoing shutdown of Route 12 amid the arrival of holiday shopping and winter weather, as the state moves closer to the start of road repairs.

After months of planning and negotiations with abutters, the New Hampshire Department of Transportation (NHDOT) has awarded a $2.64 million contract to Casella Construction of Mendon, Vermont, to repair a 600-foot section of Route 12 in the southern end of Charlestown that collapsed in late July after heavy rains and flooding eroded the road’s ground support.

While the hire of contractors is a definitive step toward remedial action, state transportation officials have yet to announce a start of construction while indicating the total project will take several months to complete and factor variables such as temperatures.

Kathleen Mulcahey-Hampson, a NHDOT official, told communities in a letter on Thursday, Nov. 18, that the construction of a 400-foot stabilizing wall is required before beginning the road repair. This wall, which was a contractual condition to receiving permission of the railroad whose rail line abuts Route 12, will stabilize the soil slope and prevent a landslide onto the tracks.

Mulcahey-Hampson said that construction of this wall is estimated to take nine weeks, depending on temperatures and weather conditions.

“Once the wall is constructed, the roadway can be rebuilt,” Mulcahey-Hampson said.

Meanwhile, the significant decrease in traffic through Charlestown on Main Street continues to adversely impact local businesses.

Joseph Cobb, co-owner of Cobb Co. Arena Games, Tech & Hobby, said their hobby retail store on 200 Main St. has lost 90 percent of its in-store business since Route 12’s closure in August.

“We are very fortunate to have our online business,” Cobb said. “Otherwise we would be in serious trouble.”

But many independently-owned businesses in Charlestown do not have online services, Cobb noted, adding that “all the businesses are being affected.”

Cobb Co. Arena Games, Tech & Hobby, which also hosts several in-store game nights, has seen a drop in participants due to the additional travel requirements, which involve an alternative route using either I-91 or back roads into town, Cobb said.

Additionally, the loss of through-traffic means a loss in potential new customers, Cobb added.

Gary Stoddard, owner of Ralph’s Supermarket at 197 Main St., agreed about the importance of the through-town traffic, saying that many customers passing through town will stop for groceries or food at Ralph’s because of its convenience.

“We count on that traffic, both from the north and the south,” Stoddard said.

Town officials are also worried about additional costs to maintain the town’s local roads during the approaching winter, due the increased use of roads such as South Hemlock Road and Meany Road as detours around Route 12.

“Meany Road is not built for the amount of traffic it is receiving,” said Charlestown Selectman Jeremy Wood.

In past years town highway workers could wait until after a snowstorm subsided to plow and treat Meany Road, because the road received little use, Wood explained. However, because the Fall Mountain Regional School District is using the local roads to transport students between Charlestown and Fall Mountain High School, in Langdon, the town will need to clear roads like Meany Road and South Hemlock Road during active storms.

According to Wood, the selectboard advocated for school busses to use the interstate of Charlestown’s local roads, due to concerns about the cost and maintenance.

Arthur Lufkin, transportation director at Fall Mountain, disagreed with the selectboard’s concerns, which amounted to an increase of three additional school busses on the roads.

Meanwhile, these roads have about 300 or 400 other vehicles per day, including local construction vehicles and delivery trucks, which contribute far more wear than the school busses, Lufkin said.

The school district opted against using the interstate as an alternate route due to the additional transport time and safety concerns, Lufkin explained.

“I would rather that my busses drive 20 mph on local roads than 50-60 mph on the interstate,” Lufkin said.

Any collision that occurs on the interstate is likely to result in severe injuries and a high casualty count, whereas a collision on the local roads, where traffic is less dense and is slower moving, is less likely to result in injuries, according to Lufkin.

The district was also concerned about the safety of the interstate off-ramp onto Route 11, which would require the school bus to cross two lanes of often fast-moving traffic to make a left turn to return from school to Charlestown.

The school district only uses the interstate to transport high school students between Fall Mountain and the River Valley Technical Center in Springfield, Vermont, according to Lufkin.

Lufkin said he is also worried about winter weather conditions on the interstate such as “black ice”, in which ice on surfaces is so smooth and translucent that drivers do not see it. Black ice is a frequent problem on the interstate during the winter and results in more serious collisions because of the velocity of the vehicles.

Lufkin added that the school district is aware of the historical winter conditions on these roads and that the district plans to switch to remote learning days should the local roads pose a risk.

So far the predominant road wear has occurred on Langdon’s side of South Hemlock Road, which is where the road changes to dirt.

Lufkin said that Langdon has already spent $8,000 to add gravel into the road to accommodate the school busses. The district plans to change to another local route during the spring thaw to allow Langdon’s portion of the road to dry.

reporter @eagletimes.com