Road Conditions in Merrimack

[joe179]

I see they also fixed the holes on Baboosic near the top of the incline at the Turnpike bridge.

The DPW also started cleaning up the sand in my neighborhood.

I must give credit where credit is due...

[Concerned]

A slightly different subject but still about roads...

Has anyone noticed that the road/lane markings on the new stretch of road near the new Walgreens are almost completely gone? Yet the ones before an after that stretch that are many years old are still fine. That whole new stretch is a complete eyesore and it is brand new!

Is the town now responsible for upkeep? I assume the contractor did it the first time and obviously did not take pride in his or his subcontractors work.

Oh, and were there any specifications such as durability, etc?

[andysinnh]

A slightly different subject but still about roads...

Has anyone noticed that the road/lane markings on the new stretch of road near the new Walgreens are almost completely gone? Yet the ones before an after that stretch that are many years old are still fine. That whole new stretch is a complete eyesore and it is brand new!

Is the town now responsible for upkeep? I assume the contractor did it the first time and obviously did not take pride in his or his subcontractors work.

Oh, and were there any specifications such as durability, etc?

So my guess is that they put non-reflective paint down there to get thru the winter, and considering they'll be ripping that whole stretch up again this summer, I'd summize that final pavement and the proper lines will be after that sewer work is complete...

[Kathy]

Has anyone noticed that the road/lane markings on the new stretch of road near the new Walgreens are almost completely gone? Yet the ones before an after that stretch that are many years old are still fine. That whole new stretch is a complete eyesore and it is brand new!

Those new lines were gone within a matter of days. There also used to be a detector in the turn lane to go up Bedford Rd that is now gone, so you have to sit through light cycles instead of setting off the signal to turn, even when there is NO traffic from any direction. With the price of gas, I think it is unfair to have to sit because Walgreen's changed the intersection.

Another kind of off topic...

Is the DPW ever going to take down the ROAD WORK signs on Back River Road? The work has been done for several months now.

[Michael Pelletier]

The city of Concord hired a private contractor to repave Hazen Drive - a half mile. It's been almost two months, and they're barely halfway done.

Odds are they didn't structure the contract to provide incentives for prompt completion of the project, like they did for the rebuilding of the MacArthur Maze overpass in Oakland.

A contractor with a proven track record of rebuilding damaged freeways (most notably the Santa Monica Freeway in 1994) well ahead of schedule, C. C. Myers, Inc., submitted a winning bid of $876,075 to repair the damage to the I-580 connector. The bid was estimated to cover only one-third of the cost of the work, but the firm counted on making up the shortfall with an incentive of $200,000 per day if the work was completed before June 27, 2007. The I-580 connector re-opened on the evening of Thursday, May 24, just before the busy Memorial Day weekend. The deadline to finish the project was beaten by over a month, with the contractor winning a $5 million bonus for early completion. The entire reconstruction project was completed only 26 days after the original accident.

[RD]

I thought the free market was supposed to provide all the incentives for prompt and high-quality work. But there you go again, somehow blaming government for shoddy private sector work.

[Michael Pelletier]

What makes you think that government contracting usually has much of anything to do with the free market? In order for the "free market" to work, there must be the opportunity to fail, to go bankrupt if you don't meet your obligations.

For instance, during the era of westward expansion, politically well-connected railroad companies were granted free land by the government based on how many miles of track they completed. The contract incentive, thus, was to slap down as many miles of track as humanly possible, regardless of how much it cost, the route that it took, whether it went where service was actually needed, or how poorly it was built, in order to claim as much free land as possible.

A poorly-structured agreement that creates perverse incentives and insulates against loss or failure will always deliver poor results. On the other hand, in Oakland, CC Meyers stood to lose around $2 million if they missed their delivery dates, and the sooner they delivered, the more money they made.

[joe179]

Well another winter has passed and now it's time for everyone to clean up for Spring and Summer...

With May just around the corner, I see the DPW will have some serious road work issues to attend to.

Not just the maintenance required to fix potholes and other weather related issues, but some serious maintenance to repair our crumbling road surfaces in many areas. e.g., Turkey Hill Bridge and many areas of that road and the delayed Drainage Projects which are scheduled to start this summer instead of immediately so as to permit enough time to deal with the unexpected before the cold weather arrives again.

I'd like to see work crews addressing our road conditions. Maybe I'm just not driving in the right places at the right times to see this.

Can someone of authority comment on when and where the DPW will begin work to maintain our road infrastructure??

[Tim Tenhave]

I don't qualify as being a person of authority but since I do have an opinion that is all that is really needed on this forum

But, enough joking...

Turkey Hill bridge is being replaced starting this year.

Other news on DPW happenings, see their "News" webpage and use the links on the left hand side at:

http://www.merrimacknh.gov/node/1440

It covers various projects in a spreadsheet which includes a timeline and status, also links for: paving, street sweeping, etc.

Tim

[RayWhipple]

Everyone needs to remember that there is only so much money in the highway budget for road repairs. The town council has tried to increase this fund over the last few years but there is more work than money. If the town were to do all teh work needed the tax rate would soar. They are doing the best job they can with what they have.

[joe179]

Ray,

My particular issues is the delay in the drainage projects as well as some other road surface issues that are now becoming acute.

While we can't cry over spilt milk, we can ensure that the roads are maintained so as to prevent Merrimack from becoming as Bedford was a few years back.

The drainage projects were voted upon and folks like me who voted yes expected them to be effected by now. In my neighborhood it has been 21 years since resurfacing. It's now looking quite poor and this affects property values as prospective buyers turn away from living where the road surfaces are crumbling. The resurfacing schedules should be much less than this and probably based on history as well as conditions.

Anyway, I see the project here is slated for this year. I hope the job proceeds smoothly and we end up with the drainage improvements and road surfaces that we have voted for a few years back...

[Tom Mahon]

Joe,
Not sure what you mean by "this year." The Town's fiscal year does not start until July 1st and many people equate this with "this year," including me. For many of the projects, "this year" will be after July 1st.

[joe179]

Tom,

With all due respect the project was supposed to start in the previous year's (perhaps earlier) appropriation(s).

Are you saying the budget for it from last year (or before) is not available now ?

Starting major roadwork after July 1st runs the risk of not being completed during warm weather when the asphalt can be properly applied. We have seen the October / November paving that is known to result in premature failure due to the cold temperature application...

[Tom Mahon]

Don't try to put words on the page that are explicitly expressed by me. I did not say or imply any such notion. This is a bond article and as such, the amount bonded is available for whatever work can be accomplished with that amount of money. If you want something more definitive than idle speculation, get hold of the DPW Director.

[Jimbo]

Tom, would that be the actual DPW Director or Dave? See Dave does not move much but enjoys the big salary, but the DPW Director, not sure about him. I've never seen him.