NASHUA, NH – A large section of the F.E. Everett Turnpike is in the process of being transformed. The State of NH Department of Transportation has designed and awarded multiple contracts to widen portions of the roadway and replace and rehabilitate bridges in the 12-mile stretch from Nashua to Bedford.
The F.E. Everett Turnpike was originally constructed in the 1950s as a highway from Nashua to Concord before the inception of the Interstate Highway System. Since its opening in 1955, it has been a vital North/South route from the capital city to the Massachusetts border. It has had multiple expansions and modifications in its history. The current construction project began in the summer of 2022 and the overall project completion date is May 2028.
General contractor R.S. Audley from Bow is currently working on the segment that will widen the turnpike from north of Exit 8 in Nashua to south of Exit 10 in Merrimack to three lanes. They have begun to replace the bridges over Pennichuck Brook just North of Exit 8.
The Pennichuck Brook and ponds serve as Nashua’s fresh Water supply. Work along the causeway leading to the bridges has been minimized to protect the reservoir and the environmentally sensitive area.
A top priority of the new bridge construction project is protecting the public water supply. As you drive north you can see strings of yellow spill booms floating on the pond for erosion control and stormwater management. A water quality testing company monitors quality continuously during the project. Audley works with the Pennichuck Corporation closely to protect the watershed.
According to Ryan Audley, President and CEO of R.S. Audley, the process has gone well so far, “As far as utility providers that work and collaborate with us they are top-notch, excellent to deal with, and to date we have protected the water.”
The two existing bridges require replacement due to their advanced age, deteriorating structural elements, and the need to widen them to three lanes in each direction to accommodate the new wider roadway. The work will be done in several phases – Two lanes, northbound and southbound, will remain open throughout the process
Phase one which is underway now, will build a new two-lane bridge to the east of the existing northbound bridge and the northbound traffic will be shifted once it’s complete. Phase two will remove the old northbound bridge and a new two-lane bridge will be built in the same location. Phase three will shift the southbound traffic onto that new bridge and the old southbound bridge will be removed and rebuilt. When completed there will be three lanes northbound and southbound over the brook. The Pennichuck crossing section should be complete by the fall of 2027.
All the moves maneuvers and phasing are by design, traffic controls and phasing are all part of the project plans and contracts. The goal is to minimize traffic impacts and highway safety.
“I will give a lot of credit to the NH DOT (Department of Transportation),” Audley said. ‘These are really well-designed projects, from their consultant designer and the DOT. We are charged with the implementation of them and we take a lot of pride in the traffic swaps, the maneuvering, and keeping stuff in working condition and working order and keeping safe.”
A stone base with compacted fill has been placed adjacent to the northbound d lane leading up to a steel coffee dam at the water’s edge. The structure has been loaded with dozens of giant sandbags to compress the base and accelerate settling. The settling is being monitored and once stability is achieved construction of the bridge piers can begin. The engineers estimate it will take three to six months to achieve a stable bottom.
The orange pipes standing along the side of the new lane are the monitoring locations. “The base of those are buried in the fill-in positions where we anticipate potential settlement would happen,” said NH DOT Contract Administrator Conrad Skov, “When we know everything is permanent and stable we will excavate the area inside the coffer dam to pour the footing an abutment structure.”
Protecting the watershed and working safely are top priorities for the contractor and the state. The turnpike is a busy road and driver behavior is a major concern.
Conrad Skov expressed his concerns of the NH DOT this way.
“Our perspective is we have to do the work we are as close to traffic as we can because we have to minimize the environmental impact. It puts us very close to active traffic. Live traffic and the crews working are most exposed,” Skov said. “We ask for people’s understanding. We designed it in such a way that traffic control is planned to maximize traffic flow but also provide room for the crews to do their work. We are looking for consideration.”
Ryan Audley described his concern for his team and the public this way.
“Distracted driving is a real threat. I think the numbers reported by the state police and Department of Safety would back that up. As far as construction zones are concerned I would ask people to be conscientious. We have a lot of heavy trucks that don’t have the stopping distance or maneuverability of a common passenger vehicle. We have to merge and exit into traffic constantly just by the nature of the design of this work. I want the traveling public to have a general understanding of that and an appreciation that there are people working here. That we care about and we want to get home safely. I hope people can be attentive in construction zones and are aware.”
Next time you pass through the work zone on the turnpike take in the scale and scope of the project. Be aware of the crews and the progress they are making.
