Nearly eight months after the Route 9 bridge in Sullivan was closed for replacement, the new bridge was opened to through traffic on Nov. 15.
The New Hampshire Department of Transportation announced the opening of the bridge near Sullivan’s Little Country Store this week that led to a local traffic detour since late March.
According to Mark Moran of the New Hampshire Department of Transportation Construction Bureau, the regional truck detour has been suspended, “but the traveling public needs to know that one-way alternating traffic patterns will continue during the workday and delays can be expected as we hurry to finish up the season.”
“We are continuing to work on and around the bridge conducting incidental construction activities (i.e. guardrail, curbing, signs, delineation) and that will continue for the next few weeks as we wind down for winter,” Moran said. Oversize vehicles may continue to be rerouted until some of this work is completed.
While under construction, traffic was rerouted to accommodate the bridge closure and commercial trucking traffic detoured between Hillsborough and Keene, through the towns of Antrim, Bennington, Hancock, Peterborough, Dublin and Marlborough via routes 202 and 101.
Moran said construction work will reconvene in the spring with an approximately three-quarter of a mile stretch of Route 9 still requiring full roadway reconstruction. The rehabilitation of the Centre Street Bridge will also be done late winter/early spring before the final course of paving is placed over the entire project, Moran said.
On Oct. 23, the NHDOT announced the delayed opening of the bridge. It was originally scheduled to be opened on Oct. 24, but at the time a delay of three to four weeks was expected due to challenging site conditions at the area.
The project is part of an ongoing Highway Improvement Project on Route 9 between the Granite Gorge Ski Area in Roxbury and the Centre Street intersection in Sullivan. The project spans about 2 miles of Route 9 and includes tree removal on the steep ridgeline slopes and slope reduction to improve sight distances, utility relocations, full roadway reconstruction with drainage and guardrail improvements.
R.S. Audley, Inc. of Bow, is the prime contractor for the $13.5 million dollar project, which has a scheduled completion date of July 24, 2020.