GOFFSTOWN — Road projects in town are on schedule, with the largest set to be completed by August, officials said.

Director of Public Works Carl Quiram said the Mast Road drainage and repaving project will be complete by the time school starts.

When voters rejected the town’s request for $1 million in road repairs in March, it forced the department to re-think some of its plans, Quiram said.

“It kind of left this gaping hole,” he said, “and some projects were eliminated.”

Those projects included completion of the reclamation of Addison Road, begun last year, as well as the matching of federal money for an additional roundabout at Pleasant and Main streets and traffic calming at Elm and Main streets, next to the library.

The total dollar amount cut from the budget was approximately $1.3 million, Quiram said.

The cuts freed up about $211,000.

Officials decided to use about $140,000 of the surplus on the Mast Road drainage project and the rest for sidewalk installation from Lynchville Park Road to Danis Park Road.

“We ended up making it work with the money we had,” Quiram said.

The Mast Road project was set to begin in 2014, but was moved up to this spring so new pavement wouldn’t have to be destroyed, Quiram said.

The drainage project, which was in the town’s capital improvement program, would have cost the town about $800,000.

Because aging sewer pipe was replaced by the sewer commission, some of the DPW’s expense was reduced.

“That would’ve been $1 million down the line,” Quiram said.

As for the remainder of Mast Road, Quiram said milling and shimming of the road will begin shortly, and will be a “painful two- to three-week period.”

Once that is complete, manhole covers will need to be lifted, Quiram said, to make way for the new pavement.

With roughly 130 manhole covers to raise, Quiram said it will take some time.

“You can only do so many of those in a day,” he said.

The work will be completed during daytime, Quiram said, because with three lanes of traffic, cars can easily be diverted.

Quiram asked motorists for patience at some of the lights on Mast Road. Some of the wire loops set into the pavement were damaged during the curbing project and drivers might experience a slight delay.

Repairing those loops carries a pricetag of about $800 each. The road milling will destroy the loops, so Quiram is opting to wait until that process is complete before fixing them all.

“We’re just asking for patience,” he said. “By the time school starts, we’ll have a new, pristine, beautiful Mast Road.”

kremillard@newstote.com