SALEM, N.H. — Residents will be waiting seven weeks longer than previously anticipated before the crossing over the Spicket River on Bridge Street is accessible.
The bridge replacement project is expected to be completed in early December, officials said during a Town Council meeting Monday night. The delay was caused by flooding, among other related challenges, resulting in an additional $200,000 in engineering costs.
“We had a very difficult spring as you are aware of,” Municipal Services Director Wayne Amaral said during the meeting. “We had a handful of very large storms.”
He said engineers had to spend more time at the site during flooding to oversee the pumping of water, incurring additional cost for the town.
“We pumped water for over 2½ months,” Amaral said.
In a March report, officials said between 50 million to 60 million gallons of water was flowing through the Spicket River and construction site as a result of rain and snow melt. The water also could not be held back or diverted due to the potential for flooding.
The additional funding was approved unanimously Monday night
The town is paying for 20% of the $6.2 million project with the remainder covered by the state. The extra $200,000, however, is not being matched by the state, according to Salem Town Manager Joe Devine.
The funding is being transferred from the town’s Roadway Improvement Capital Reserve Fund, which has $582,609.
The bridge replacement has been a goal of the town for a few years and has faced past delays due to state funding being canceled at one point. Earlier this year engineers had anticipated the project would be complete in October.
Since the entire bridge is being torn down and replaced the crossing has been inaccessible during construction, requiring a school bus detour among other inconveniences.
Amaral said the additional $200,000 had not been allocated to any projects before it was transferred for the bridge replacement.
A detour map and additional information on the project can be found at shorturl.at/iD0mX