Work has officially begun on what is expected to be a multiyear project to connect the two halves of Route 202 through downtown Jaffrey.
The municipal parking lot on Blake Street is empty of cars, making way for heavy-duty construction equipment as crews work on creating the abutments for the new bridge expected to span the Contoocook River.
The total project includes the construction of two new roundabouts, one at the five-way intersection of Route 124, Route 202/Peterborough Street, Stratton Road, Blake Street and Main Street, connected by a newly constructed bridge over the Contoocook River to a second roundabout that will be constructed at Route 202/River Street.
The first phase of the construction is the bridge, which began in April and is now underway. The entire project is expected to take about three years, concluding in May of 2028.
Jaffrey Planning and Economic Development Director Jo Anne Carr said construction on the bridge will take place mainly on Monday through Friday, during the hours of 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., with some possibility of weekend activity. The Blake Street parking lot is a former brownfield site, and Carr said the construction will include the removal of soil, and residents will likely see trucks hauling dirt from the site.
The town will provide up-to-date information about the project on the Town of Jaffrey Facebook page. While no traffic detours are expected during bridge construction, information about traffic detours and delays will be posted on Facebook, and Carr encouraged residents to follow the page, or check the “downtown traffic project” page on the Jaffrey town website, townofjaffrey.com, to be kept up-to-date.
In the most-recent update, on April 25, work was ongoing to build the support frame for the bridge, with drilling for abutments expected to start last week.
“I’m pretty excited about it,” said Carr of seeing the start to the project, which has been in the planning phases for several years.The town has been working with Toole Design and the Division of Historic Resources to design some aesthetic improvements to the downtown, which will occur at the same time as the construction, and to plan some new signage for the downtown, including signs with historical information about Jaffrey. Goals also include creating a “welcome park” in the location of the former Lab n’ Lager, as a gathering space.
“It’s coming along nicely, and really will be transformative for the downtown,” Carr said.
The bridge has one of its origins on Blake Street at is what now is a municipal parking lot. The parking lot has been closed, and is a staging area for construction.
The bridge is anticipated to be concrete, with a black rail to match the current downtown aesthetics, with ornamental lights. It includes a sidewalk and a bike lane on each side of the bridge, along with two travel lanes.
This phase includes improvements to Blake Street.
In June, the construction of the bridge is expected to be complete, and construction on improvements to the River Street side of the bridge is expected.
That will be the extent of this year’s construction project, with improvements to the River Street roundabout and improvements to Stratton Road in 2026, the five-legged roundabout and Turnpike Road improvements starting in at the end of 2026 and fishing in June of 2027. Final roundabout improvements, landscaping, paving and striping would be in the spring of 2028.
As part of the project, Jaffrey expects to also move forward with some municipal pedestrian improvements to sidewalks, including on Peterborough Street.
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