Route 108 upgrades in works in Tri-Cities

DOVER — State officials are seeking public input to guide the scope of proposed roadway upgrades along five miles of Route 108 in Dover, Somersworth and Rochester.

The New Hampshire Department of Transportation will host a public listening session at 7 p.m. Monday, March 18, at Dover Middle School to kick off the $11.36 million project. The project is intended, according to NHDOT, to improve safety and mobility for drivers, pedestrians, bikers and transit users along a busy stretch of Route 108 from the Weeks Crossing in Dover through Somersworth to Innovation Drive in Rochester.

“We want the public to tell us where the critical and problematic areas are,” said Jennifer Zorn, a member of the McFarland Johnson consulting team assisting NHDOT with the public involvement portion of the project. “We want the information from the public to see what their experiences are. The users of the corridor who live there and commute there are the experts. We want to hear from the experts in the community.”

Funding for the $11.36 million Route 108 improvements is included in the state’s 10-year transportation plan. The plan estimates construction will cost roughly $8.85 million and begin in 2022.

According to NHDOT, the objective is to make improvements that better balance the needs of all users of the heavily traveled corridor. That means addressing mobility issues that exist at key intersections during peak travel times for motorized and non-motorized users, the lack of consistent road shoulders and sidewalks, and the lack of formal bus stops in many areas.

Those types of improvements fall under a set of transportation design principles known as “Complete Streets,” according to NHDOT.

“The concept of Complete Streets encompasses many approaches to planning, designing, and operating roadways and rights of way with all users in mind to make the transportation network safer and more efficient,” reads a U.S. Department of Transportation webpage on Complete Streets.

The Route 108 project is expected to include roadway widening and may include changes involving traffic lights. Key specifics, such as how many additional travel lanes might be added or where, haven’t yet been determined, according to NHDOT. A traffic study is currently underway.

“We’re really looking at the corridor in a comprehensive fashion,” said Zorn.

NHDOT has created a special website, 108TriCityCompleteStreets.com, to share information related to the project.

The site outlines that rights of way will be affected by the project and that historic properties may be affected, too. NHDOT, according to a spokesperson, invites anyone with a direct interest in historical resources to become more involved with the project’s development as a consulting party by calling (603) 271-2171.