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October 26. 2012 7:54PM
State and local officials held a short ceremony near on Route 16 in Rochester on Friday to commemorate the five-year, $128 millon highway expansion project that finished ahead of time and below budget. (John Quinn)
Officials commemorate the end of Route 16 widening
State and local officials held a short ceremony near on Route 16 in Rochester on Friday to commemorate the five-year, $128 millon highway expansion project that finished ahead of time and below budget. (John Quinn)
While Gov. John Lynch was glad to see the end of a five-year project to expand Route 16, he was disappointed he wasn't pressed into service to paint some highway lines again.
State and local officials held a quick ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday morning in the southbound lanes of Route 16, which was originally built as a two-lane highway in 1957.
The project — which is expected to be fully complete by June — widened the road, adding up to six lanes and divided the highway between Exit 12 and 16.
“This is pretty exciting. It's really going to provide for economic development,” Lynch said, adding the expansion project also made travel safer and alleviated congestion around the city.
“This is an important project for the region, but it's also important for New Hampshire,” Lynch said.
Deputy DOT Commissioner Michael Pillsbury said the five-year project cost a total of $128 million, which is about 18 percent less than the original price tag of $156 million.
“What was great about this was it was done in parallel projects,” Pillsbury said, adding the project is also a year ahead of schedule as it was expected to be complete by October, 2013.
Pillsbury said the remaining $28 million will be used to offset other road projects. He said the state used toll revenues, such as the ones collected a few exits to the south, to serve as a down payment for the 30-year bond for the project.
Nonetheless, Pillsbury said the tolls will remain at their current rates.
“No roads are free,” Pillsbury said. “There are always ongoing operational and maintenance costs.”
Lynch thanked workers from the state Department of Transportation for all their hard work and wished them well with future projects, including ongoing work in Dover and Newington along the Spaulding Turnpike.
“Rochester is on the move,” Lynch said, adding this project has been a long time coming.
When the project began in the fall of 2007, Lynch recalled seeing the temporary “off-kilter” bridge supports, which were installed in 1997 to stabilize the structure for another year, but not a decade.
“I was very upset that I wasn't asked to do the final striping,” Lynch joked, but he offered to offer his road painting skills — especially when his tenure in office ends in January — if mayor T.J. Jean also lends a hand.
Jean, who's never had the opportunity to paint lines on a road, said he was more than willing to help.
He also credited construction crews for their hard work.
“I think generations of people will appreciate what you've done,” Jean said.
For more information about highway improvements and road projects in the state, visit the DOT's page at www.nh.gov/dot/index.htm.
jquinn@newstote.com
State and local officials held a quick ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday morning in the southbound lanes of Route 16, which was originally built as a two-lane highway in 1957.
The project — which is expected to be fully complete by June — widened the road, adding up to six lanes and divided the highway between Exit 12 and 16.
“This is pretty exciting. It's really going to provide for economic development,” Lynch said, adding the expansion project also made travel safer and alleviated congestion around the city.
“This is an important project for the region, but it's also important for New Hampshire,” Lynch said.
Deputy DOT Commissioner Michael Pillsbury said the five-year project cost a total of $128 million, which is about 18 percent less than the original price tag of $156 million.
“What was great about this was it was done in parallel projects,” Pillsbury said, adding the project is also a year ahead of schedule as it was expected to be complete by October, 2013.
Pillsbury said the remaining $28 million will be used to offset other road projects. He said the state used toll revenues, such as the ones collected a few exits to the south, to serve as a down payment for the 30-year bond for the project.
Nonetheless, Pillsbury said the tolls will remain at their current rates.
“No roads are free,” Pillsbury said. “There are always ongoing operational and maintenance costs.”
Lynch thanked workers from the state Department of Transportation for all their hard work and wished them well with future projects, including ongoing work in Dover and Newington along the Spaulding Turnpike.
“Rochester is on the move,” Lynch said, adding this project has been a long time coming.
When the project began in the fall of 2007, Lynch recalled seeing the temporary “off-kilter” bridge supports, which were installed in 1997 to stabilize the structure for another year, but not a decade.
“I was very upset that I wasn't asked to do the final striping,” Lynch joked, but he offered to offer his road painting skills — especially when his tenure in office ends in January — if mayor T.J. Jean also lends a hand.
Jean, who's never had the opportunity to paint lines on a road, said he was more than willing to help.
He also credited construction crews for their hard work.
“I think generations of people will appreciate what you've done,” Jean said.
For more information about highway improvements and road projects in the state, visit the DOT's page at www.nh.gov/dot/index.htm.
jquinn@newstote.com
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