Traffic over the Union Street Bridge will become single-lane, alternating traffic in preparation for the rehabilitation of the 79-year-old bridge.
The temporary traffic signal that will control single-lane traffic will be installed today, said Rodney Bartlett, the town administrator. Although the lights may begin to flash yellow Tuesday to alert drivers to the new lights, the shift to single-lane traffic won’t occur until other traffic devices are also installed, said Bartlett.
Union Street Bridge is in West Peterborough, about a half-mile from Dublin Road. It is suspended over Nubanusit Brook. The only crossing over the stream in the neighborhood, over 1,300 vehicles travel over it every day, according to Hoyle, Tanner and Associates, the engineering firm overseeing construction. Commuters should expect the new traffic pattern to shake up routines.
As the bridge is repaired in two phases, traffic will be reduced to one 11-foot-lane of travel (the width of the street is 24-feet). The traffic signal will assign the right-of-way.
Traffic will remain one-way until the end of November. A temporary pedestrian crossing will be built. The west end of Altemont Street near Nature’s Green Grocer will also be closed through part of the construction. The town plans to further coordinate this closure with property owners and businesses there, said Bartlett.
Built in 1937, the Union Street Bridge was placed on the N.H. DOT’s red-list because it is structurally deficient. Repeated exposure to de-icing chemicals have expanded and cracked the concrete of the bridge. To repair this damage, the concrete of the top slab, sidewalk and parapet walls will be replaced. Cold River Bridges, of Walpole, will carry out the repairs.