Looming roadwork for the new downtown roundabouts has funeral home director Mark Cournoyer looking to move the business’s chapel to a new location, farther from the roadway and disruptive traffic and construction noise.
Cournoyer Funeral Home & Cremation Center, located at 33 River St., is already close to the roadway already, Cournoyer said in an interview Tuesday. Plans to add a sidewalk to the roadway and increase the road width on the approach to a roundabout on River Street will bring the roadway even closer, based on the state’s current plans, he said.
“We’re definitely going to be knee-deep in it, if not elbow-deep,” Cournoyer said of the planned construction.
Cournoyer appeared before the Jaffrey Planning Board Tuesday for a preliminary consultation to build a new chapel farther from the road and facing the river.
The state Department of Transportation, as part of a long-planned traffic-calming effort for downtown Jaffrey, has proposed a new roundabout for the town center and to build a bridge over the Contoocook River to create a bypass of Jaffrey Main Street for Route 202 traffic. The bridge would connect to a second roundabout on River Street, a short distance from Cournoyer Funeral Home.
The project is slated to require the demolition of an apartment on River Street – which has already been purchased by the state and is expected to come down next summer – but Cournoyer said that while his building isn’t directly in the way of the road project, its proximity is problematic in other ways.
“The roundabout is going to impact the funeral home. My chapel is already right next to the road. We need to be away from the speed and traffic,” Cournoyer said. “It’s an old house, on fieldstone foundation. It shakes when these big trucks go by.”
The close proximity to the roadway has already been an issue at times during the course of everyday business, Cournoyer said. In 2005, the town repaired water mains on River Street, and Cournoyer said the noise exponentially affected their ability to serve families who used the chapel for calling hours and memorial services.
At this point, Cournoyer said he is still exploring potential options, and has not secured funding for the new building. At this stage, he said the new building is only conceptual, and he is still exploring options before moving forward with a formal plan.
Jaffrey Planning & Economic Development Director Jo Anne Carr said the Planning Board’s initial review of the proposal did not turn up any red flags for the board, and that there is sufficient space on the property for a new chapel while still respecting shoreland protection requirements along the river and the property setbacks. Cournoyer will have to apply for a site plan review process with the Planning Board before moving forward.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.