By BOB MARTIN
Eagle Times Staff
CLAREMONT, N.H. — The Claremont Public Works, Water Department and Highway Departments have been busy this month, and this week they have been preparing for the Washington Street paving project, which City Manager Yoshi Manale said will be starting up next month.
“Tentatively scheduled for mid-May,” Manale said. “The start date is weather dependent.”
Starting on Thursday, April 10, the highway department was setting up lane changes and closures, reducing some areas of Washington Street to a single lane. Commuters and travelers along the busy stretch of road should expect delays and plan accordingly. The work will be ongoing for the next month.
“The Department of Public Works asks that caution is used while traveling in the area,” the city of Claremont posted on their Facebook account.
The project includes shoulder to shoulder paving and line striping across all four lanes. Washington Street will be milled down two inches and a half-inch shim will be applied to smooth imperfections in the heavily traveled roadway. A one-and-a-half inch top will be applied on top of the millings and shim with high strength asphalt.
This project includes milling of more than 71,000-square-yards of existing asphalt surface. Millings will also be loaded on trucks and sent to the DPW facility to use on gravel roads in the future. Officials say that the use of milling reduces cost, dust and provides a better driving surface.
There will be structure adjustments for manholes, valve boxes and drainage catch basins in this project. Also included is roadway sweeping, an application of emulsified tack coat, a full width shim coat at half-inch with hot mix asphalt, 1.5 inches of wearing coarse to add profile to the road and line painting.
Included is a section of Washington Street to be milled two inches with a half-inch shim and a 1.5 inch high strength overlay. This is for a section that was done five years ago but will now go along with the new road. The milling will increase strength with a thicker top and will also put the road in the same timeline, which will help with repair work and replacement in the future.
After plenty of discussions about funding, using bonds and at one point proposing that local businesses pay the cost, the city council unanimously voted on the paving project in December.
Studies have shown that up to 30,000 vehicles travel Washington Street per day, and Manale previously said that this project will “improve the traffic flow and visibility of the commercial corridor of Claremont.”
This week the Claremont Water Department was also working on a water main break on Sullivan Street between Lonsdale Avenue and Twistback Road, reducing traffic to a single lane.
Earlier in the week, Sugar River Drive north of Chandlers Mill Road was closed to through traffic between 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. while the city’s highway department graded the road.
At the beginning of the month, on April 3, the DPW Highway crew was working on a culvert near the intersection of Roberts Hill Road and Craigue Hill Road. The road was cut down to one lane.
The city thanks drivers for their patience and asked anyone who travels through areas undergoing construction projects to be cautious.
