Selectmen Seek Members for New Roads and Bridges Committee

Interim actions in place to protect failing bridges

March 26, 2014 • Saved under Town Meeting
By the Andover Board of Selectmen

The Board of Selectmen, with the full support of both the Budget Committee and our past Road Agent, Jon Champagne, submitted to Town Meeting a request to borrow $1,000,000 to “catch up” deferred and delayed road and bridge projects. That request failed.

Several new and different options and ideas about how to fund the deferred and delayed projects were presented to Town Meeting from the floor. As of press time, none of these proposals have been submitted to the Board for review or consideration.

The Board is currently and actively seeking members for the new Andover Road and Bridge Committee. This Committee will develop a three-year plan based on level funding of $200,000 per year for road and bridge projects. Once the committee is up and running, the Board intends to rely on the committee for the following:

  • Prioritizing road and bridge projects
  • Determining “best practices” for road and bridge maintenance
  • Reviewing and updating DOT funding map
  • Establishing a system to record road and bridge maintenance

At this time, the Board is planning to seek bids for the removal of Gale Road Bridge, as that project was atop the New Hampshire DOT list of to-dos.

The Board is looking forward to the completion of the second phase of the Road Maintenance Software Management System. In phase one, all our streets and bridges were input into the program. In phase two, road conditions will be entered. This will provide the best overall picture of the whole road system since 1994.

The Board has already taken direct action to delay required action on several red-listed bridges. The bridges on Hall Farm Road, Kearsarge Mountain Road, Elbow Pond Road over Mountain Brook, and the Lawrence Street bridge over the Blackwater River will be re-posted for reduced maximum weight limits. The Lawrence Street bridge will also become a single-lane bridge. These changes will go into effect once the signs are posted in April.

Lastly, the Board will be requiring bonds for logging operations which will haul over a town bridge. In some cases, the maximum loads will be less than ideal for hauling; however, the Board needs to ensure that our bridges last as long as possible.