NASHUA, NH – Summer is the time for beaches, vacations, and fun in the sun. It is also time for excavators, paving crews, and traffic detours around the construction With all the activity on and under the streets of Nashua we decided to check in with the DPW Director Lisa Fauteux for a status update for all the “work” that is in the works.
Director Fauteux has worked for the city for 15 years with 13-and-a-half at the helm of the 175-plus-person organization. The DPW encompasses multiple departments and city operations including Engineering, Solid Waste, Wastewater, Parks and Recreation, Street Department, and Parks and Recreation.
Commenting on the scale and scope of the division, Fauteux said, “I enjoy the impact we have on each and every resident every day. That’s very rewarding. There is a lot going on. We are a large division.”
Keeping up with all the projects is challenging, but the division has a useful online tool to keep track of projects. The PUBLIC WORKS PROJECTS and EVENTS VIEWER tracks paving projects, events at the park, and major projects. This is a solid tool for monitoring what is happening on and to the streets of Nashua in real time. From paving schedules to events at the city parks, find it here.
A major project underway is the Taylor Falls and Veterans Memorial Bridge rehab project restoring the two bridges across the Merrimack River on Bridge Street. It is a joint operation with the city of Hudson with the two municipalities working in partnership. The project is funded with 80% federal dollars and 20% local dollars which Nashua and Hudson split equally
The work includes stripping the existing road surface, making structural repairs, guardrail repairs, new concrete slab, and re-surfacing (asphalt paving) The construction project will run through August of 2025 with one bridge renovated and rebuilt each year of the project.
Another project of significance is the West Hollis Street Corridor Study. After some analysis and public commenting, the project moves on to the conceptual plan stage. The DPW plans to have a neighborhood public meeting in September to present proposed plans and review the options.
Under consideration are possible roundabouts, and a multi-use path for pedestrian and bike traffic. Bike and pedestrian safety ranked higher than traffic issues reported during previous meetings with residents. Once designs are completed budgeting and financing requests will follow.
The most expensive and complex operation of the DPW is wastewater management. Nashua’s treatment plants currently are in good operating condition with no major upgrade issues looming. Fauteux reports about the physical plant, “Nashua is actually in a good place, we have upgraded most of the plant. It is a very corrosive environment so it seems like right after we get it all updated we’re starting all over again. We are in really good shape right now.”
One issue facing the wastewater department is disposal of the byproduct of sewage treatment, Class B Biosolids. The options for disposal of this material by land application are shrinking and becoming higher cost. Due to concerns with PFAS (polyfluoroalkyl substances) aka “forever chemicals,” fewer locations are accepting this material. Adjacent states Maine and Vermont have banned land application. The DPW is now researching alternatives, like more extensive treatment methods, to manage this new challenge.
The Walnut Street Oval project is in the early planning stages and the Division will hold public meetings this fall to discuss the options. Traffic calming and pedestrian and bicycle safety are again priorities for the design.
City engineer Dan Hudson listed the factors being reviewed. “We are trying to simplify the intersections, make some of the pedestrian access and crossings safer, and speed reduction while maintaining the functionality of the traffic flow.”
With all the new large apartment complexes in the area, pedestrian activity will increase.
Although there is a boom of multifamily buildings rising in the city, the current water and sewer infrastructure capacity is adequate for managing the increased demand. One of the advantages of all the construction is the city is upgrading stormwater drainage and water and sewer connections adjacent to the sites. The city continually upgrades and repairs existing lines including re-sleeving many sections.
The City Landfill is now operating in the Phase IV section of the landfill which provides an additional 40 years of capacity. The city is looking at scaling up composting options to reduce the volume of the waste stream, which should be coming online in the next two years. Food Waste represents about 6% of the volume of waste handled and composting will help meet the Phase IV permitting requirement for reduction of waste volume each year.
We met with Fauteux and Hudson in the new DPW headquarters building on West Hollis Sreet. That facility opened in the Spring of 2023 and was another major division undertaking. The next phase of that project is a large maintenance garage
Fauteux expressed gratitude for the new facility noting she had been advocating for it from the beginning of her tenure. She expressed her gratitude for the facility and gratitude for the patience of Nashua residents dealing with all the summer street construction.
“We appreciate everyone’s patience with the paving program, which is a big challenge. We do about 75 million dollars of paving each year and that is a lot of disruption.”
Next time you are stuck in a line of traffic by a flagman dressed in hi-vis wardrobe consider the work of DPW.