Costly Steps Needed to Complete Highland Avenue Reconstruction

PLYMOUTH-There are two more phases needed complete the Highland Avenue Reconstruction Project. The undertaking has been ongoing since 2002, and there is no definitive date when it will be done.

"The problem with Highland Ave. is that it used to be a state road, the town took it over years ago-they were concrete roads, there is 6 inches of concrete under those roads, and when that starts to heave there is a lot of cracking in the road, " says Jim Boucher of Plymouth's Highway Department.

The first phase extended from 2002-2003, which was the overhauling of Highland Ave. from Langdon Street to Broadway Street. The project consisted of adding new sidewalks and putting in new drainage systems. The topcoat of the pavement was laid down in 2003. The project cost an estimated 600, 000 dollars.

The second phase of the project is reconstructing Broadway Street to Old Ward Bridge Road. The engineering for the project is in process and the town will be responsible for paying forty percent of it.

"For the most part Highland Ave. is comfortable to drive on. Parts of it are sketchy, like up by the high school there are a lot of potholes." says PSU student Annette Beaudoin.

The final phase will be the most expensive. This portion will rebuild Broadway Street to Tenney Mountain Highway; the estimated cost is 1.5 million dollars. The town has received eighty percent in grants from State Aid, and will be responsible for paying twenty percent of the total cost.

"It's good that the town is redoing the roads, the conditions are poor. I wish the project would move around more quickly. I get nervous driving on the roads near Hannaford. I fear for my vehicle every time I hit one of those cracks a little too fast," says Paul Fournier, resident of Plymouth.