Went to a meeting in Alton tonight (12-8-04) regarding the replacement of the route 28 bridge over the Merrymeeting river just south of the Alton Traffic Circle.
The approval stage will take place in 2005, the planning and bid stage will take place in 2006, and the construction will take place in the summer and fall of 2007 into the spring of 2008.
There will be a temporary two lane bridge that will be constructed to the west of the current bridge that will start just south of the circle and join the road right at the driveway into the Riverside Deli (Seasonal deli with great wraps, takeout or eat in at the picnic tables - usually open from about Memorial day to Oct 12th, but I digress). New bridge will be two 12 foot lanes with five foot paved shoulders and on the west side of the road a 5 foot sidewalk.
This will be the start of a seven year plan to improve route 28 from Alton Circle to Barnstead, where the road widens in Barnstead (7.5 miles of construction). Thought I would mention that now, so that those of you who are close to retiring up here can maybe hasten your plans a little and avoid the traffic jams.
As things progress (at the speed of a turbocharged snail with a sea anchor out), I'll try to keep all informed.
