Safety concerns at two Route 9 intersections in Keene drew discussion Wednesday among members of the City Council’s Municipal Services, Facilities and Infrastructure Committee.
While a short-term solution for one of these crossings is planned in the next month or so, committee members hope to approach the N.H. Department of Transportation about the other.
NHDOT crews could complete improvements for the intersection of Route 9, a state-owned road, with Sullivan Road in eastern Keene in the next four to six weeks, according to City Engineer Bryan Ruoff. And MSFI committee members voted unanimously Wednesday to recommend the full council write a letter to NHDOT asking for a roundabout at the intersection of Route 9 and Whitcombs Mill Road. The state agency is scheduled to conduct a safety audit at that site next Tuesday.
City officials applied for the audit there in 2023, and found out last November NHDOT would do it this spring, according to Public Works Director Don Lussier.
“Afterwards, they will look at all the data and help with some recommendations. And normally, those recommendations would include potentially a combination of short-term implementation actions that we can do right away with relatively low cost and infrastructure construction,” Lussier said.
“But then if there’s … are more, you know, construction-related improvements that they think are warranted, they’ll do what’s considered a benefit cost analysis.”
He said sight distances due to the curvature of the road is one of several issues at the intersection, and that he expects to receive a final report from NHDOT in three months, though will likely receive a draft sooner.
In the meantime, Councilor Phil Jones hopes to circumvent what can be a lengthy process of working through road improvements with NHDOT. He recently submitted a communication to councilors requesting they send a letter to the agency to build a roundabout there. His letter outlines concerns such as increased traffic as a new residential development is planned near the intersection. He also pointed to the success of a roundabout at the intersection of Base Hill Road and Route 9.
“I’m trying to produce an emergency situation versus, ‘Oh, we need something on the 10-year plan,” Jones told the MSFI committee during Wednesday’s meeting, referencing a NHDOT master list of projects.
Still, Lussier said, if officials move forward with a construction project at the site it would likely end up on this plan. “I know Councilor Jones doesn’t want this to go into the 10-year plan, but those long-term solutions like multi-million dollar roundabouts are almost certainly going to be part of the state 10-year plan,” Lussier said.
As for the idea itself, Lussier said he thinks a roundabout is a good possible solution. “I think it’s definitely a viable option, but it would be premature to say that that’s the only option we’re going to consider.”
While Wednesday night was the first time councilors discussed Jones’ idea for a roundabout, plans for the intersection of Route 9 and Sullivan Road have been a topic of conversation in their chambers since last fall.
City officials flagged that intersection as a serious safety concern, and held a public input session in October on the heels of four serious car crashes that had occurred there since July. Councilors briefly considered closing Sullivan Road, but after receiving significant pushback from Sullivan residents who rely on the intersection, decided to go in another direction. They considered closing just the Keene side of Sullivan Road, but landed on a plan to restripe Route 9 at the intersection.
This work was planned to start at the end of November, but a snowstorm prevented it from happening then, Ruoff recalled during Wednesday’s meeting. He explained that at that time, plans called for the city to pay the project’s $5,000 cost because NHDOT had ceased some operations, including striping work, for the year.
However, since the work was delayed until this spring, NHDOT plans to complete and pay for it, Ruoff told The Sentinel.
A long-term solution is still being discussed, and Ruoff said officials plan to ask NHDOT to do the same kind of safety audit being conducted at Whitcombs Mill at the Sullivan Road intersection.
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