Road Maintenance Challenges in Nottingham

Now that spring has arrived, the busy season for Nottingham’s Highway Department has begun. To keep readers informed, I asked Town Administrator Ellen White about the department’s plans. The department’s Director is Steven Rollins. He has a crew of four full-time and one part-time staff. The department also uses contractors for various functions, such as snow plowing.

Unusual twists this year to the department’s plans are that except for some remaining road reconstruction work funded by a 2023 warrant article, no road reconstruction projects will be done this year due to the voters’ decision not to approve the roadwork warrant article. The remaining 2023 roadwork is for a portion of Deerfield Road near Stevens Hill to be milled and top-coated to address the sections of the top layer that have delaminated. Highland Ave will be paved to complete the drainage project that was done in the spring of 2023.  This will cost approximately $143k. 

There will be some highway mowing done this year - as much as the $10k budget will allow. One of the major issues with mowing is Japanese Knotweed - an invasive species. For the past three years, the town has had a contract for remediation of Japanese Knotweed. In the fall, if budget allows, the department will look for new areas of growth and attempt to address them. 

One unusual project the Highway Department will take on is to install a new septic system at the library. This will be done during summer, when the library is closed for its summer vacation. Last year the library closed August 13 through 21. 

Upcoming big equipment expenditures for the department include replacing the grader. It has reached its useful life expectancy, but it can be kept running for a few more years with additional repair and maintenance. The Capital Improvement Plan calls for replacing the grader in 2026. This is expected to cost $415k. The department’s F-550 truck will likely need to be replaced around 2028. 

I asked the Town Administrator several questions about grading of the dirt roads: When will the dirt roads get graded? How long will it take? How many times will they get graded this year? What gets prioritized for grading? 

The Town Administrator said, “The heaviest traveled and roughest roads receive priority attention but they are also working on roads within the same areas so they are not constantly moving equipment around town.  They are rolling out the roads with a compactor after grading.  This should minimize the number of times the roads will require grading ultimately working toward a spring and fall grade rather than multiple times throughout the season.”

There will also be “ditch work to train the water to run off the roads rather than pool up and create the potholes.”

I observed that residents of Shore Drive had achieved good results addressing the large number of potholes on their road by dragging a leveler over the road, and by filling in some of the potholes with gravel. As the drag leveler achieved quick results and requires only a truck and an inexpensive leveler, I asked why the Highway Department doesn’t use them. I was told that the department does use them on very narrow roads, but “Roughing up the surface provides only temporary relief; the potholes will return until they can be cut out and filled with adequate material and address the drainage issue causing the potholes.”

The Town Administrator pointed out that it is illegal for residents to repair their roads. “RSA 236:28 provides that it is a misdemeanor to damage a public highway.  In addition, a person who fails to obtain prior permission under RSA 236:9 to disturb the highway, or who violates rules or regulations imposed by a municipality for work on a public highway, is guilty of a violation if a natural person and a misdemeanor if any other person.  RSA 236:14.”

I asked how should residents report issues for the department to address? What are the issues the department typically addresses based on residents' concerns? How bad does something have to be to warrant being addressed? (Especially concerned here with potholes, plugged culverts, and water over the road.) What are the typical response times? The Town Administrator said, “Call or email the town office and messages will be relayed to the Highway Director or on-call person as needed. Potholes, trees/limbs down, signage, beaver issues, neighbor’s water running into roads, school bus complaints of low branches, turnaround locations, requests for road grading, etc. All issues are assessed and addressed if warranted.  Response depends on the request, assistance provided to police and emergency services is always prioritized.  Other items are addressed upon notification of the issue.”

The Nottingham Blog has previously covered citizens’ concerns that contractors hired by the town to snow plow have applied so much road salt that their wells have been poisoned. I asked, why does the town use contractors to plow some of the town's roads?

The Town Administrator said, “Not enough staffed manpower or equipment to be done by town crew within a safe timeframe.  Plow routes are recommended to max out at 2-3 hours to reduce fatigue.  Proximity to sand/salt supply at the Smoke Street Pit poses its own challenges.”

I inquired about concerns that the department uses excess salt on the roads. How does the town manage salting the roads? Is there a difference between the department's own work and that of contractors?

The Town Administrator said, “There is no difference in salt application between town vs. subcontracted; all material used is as directed by the Highway Director.  Since Steve Rollins has taken over the position, the ratio is set at 1/3 salt, 2/3 sand for all paved roads.  Dirt roads are straight sand treatment unless in certain situations some salt mix may be required but not regularly applied.”

Other issues about highway maintenance the Town Administrator pointed out are that the lake roads are difficult to maintain because they are narrow, winding, and heavily treed. There’s nowhere to put snow. Water doesn’t drain well. There’s limited space to turn equipment around. All of the places the dirt roads intersect with paved roads are a safety concern for the grader. The Town Administrator also wishes that the public were more aware that the town has a lot of miles of dirt roads it must maintain.

A typical drag grader used to level dirt roads.