Hooksett Town Administrator Andre Garen told the council on Oct. 8 that the state has approved the engineering study and funding estimate for the town’s Route 3 and Route 3A projects, but that construction schedules have shifted and funding remains constrained.

“The estimating committee…based on the information that we have from our consultant that more money is needed in order to carry out this plan,” Garen said, and later told the council he received a letter from the state approving the engineering study and funding. He said the Route 3 DOT project is a state-led project currently estimated at about $34,000,000, and the Route 3A Hackett Hill Road project is municipally managed and includes two roundabouts in the town’s design.

Garen told the council the Route 3A Hackett Hill project was moved from 2026–27 into 2028 for engineering and construction, and the larger Route 3 project’s engineering and construction window also shifted: engineering in 2029 and construction in 2030–31 under the current state plan. “Right now…that’s $34,000,000 but I think it might be going up,” he said of the Route 3 DOT project.

Councilors asked whether the town’s interactions with state officials affected scheduling; Garen said delays are driven mostly by statewide funding constraints and competing priorities. “When we were first talking about this six years ago, there was a lot of money available…Now that’s beginning to dry out,” he said. He added that the town submitted designs reflecting input from multiple public hearings and that some plan modifications were made to reduce business impacts.

Council members and planning-board representatives raised concern about the changes and asked for continued advocacy to keep Hooksett projects moving. Garen said he and town representatives attended the DOT 10-year-plan hearing in Bedford to advocate for both projects and that he would continue following up with state representatives.

No formal council action was taken; the administration will notify the council if further state decisions or funding updates require a formal vote.