Planned construction on Peterborough’s Main Street, including the replacement of the bridge and the renovation to the Peterborough Public Library, is delayed until spring.
State officials expect to begin soliciting bids for the bridgework this week, according to Peterborough Town Administrator Rodney Bartlett.
Originally, the project was planned to begin this summer, but final adjustments on the plan and securing right-of-way permits delayed the bidding process by several months, and now the work isn’t likely to begin before April, Bartlett said.
This isn’t the first delay for the project – Peterborough has been in talks with the Department of Transportation over the bridge replacement since 2008.
“I’m very much looking forward to it going out to bid,” Bartlett said.
The bridge reconstruction is projected to cost a total of $5.97 million. Of that, 80 percent of the cost will be paid by the Federal Highway Administration and 20 percent by the town of Peterborough. Peterborough approved $1.19 million for the project in 2018.
The planned renovation and addition to the Peterborough Town Library was originally planned to overlap with the road project, and this will still be the case, Library Director Corinne Chronopoulos said Friday.
The library renovation and expansion project is estimated to cost $8.5 million. The town contributed $3 million through taxation. The library is raising the remainder through grants and donations.
Like the bridge reconstruction, there were hopes the library work would start this year, but the library is still working to raise the remaining $531,000.
Chronopoulos said a construction date will not be set until the fundraising is complete, but library officials are hopeful construction can begin in the spring.
In addition to working with individual donors, the library is also pursuing additional grants and foundation donations, which could raise up to 30 percent of the remaining funds, Chronopoulos said.
The delay in the Main Street Bridge construction will also delay a planned bridge replacement at the intersection of Route 101 and Route 202 in Peterborough.
Robert Landry, the project manager for the Route 101/202 bridge replacement project, said the timing of the bridge replacement is dependent upon the timing of the completion of the Main Street Bridge project.
“The key is, we don’t want the Main Street Bridge lane closure and the detoured traffic to impact the project on Route 101 and 202,” Landry said.
Landry said currently, the state will advertise the project on Route 101/202 in January, but do not expect to start construction until at least 2022.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.