Road agent: Old Manchester resurfaced; town to reuse asphalt millings for shoulders

The town's road agent, Jeff, reported to the Board of Selectmen on July 14 that Old Manchester Road and Volcanney/Rochester Road have been milled and resurfaced and that crews will place shoulder gravel on Thursday, using screened asphalt millings as a recycled aggregate. Jeff described the millings as a material the crew can screen and reuse: "the millings because it gives us a product to reuse. We can screen the millings and use it for shoulder gravel," he said, adding that tailings can be mixed with gravel to create more aggregate instead of buying new material. Nut graf: The road agent said the town is prioritizing resurfacing, ditching and shoulder work to address washouts and sight-line problems; brush cutting and shoulder clearing are ongoing and will continue as resources allow. He reported drainage work on Stevens Lane, shoulder work on Horizon Lane and planned ditch work on lower Old Manchester to address washout. The road schedule includes beginning work on Route 43 starting August 4, with the goal of completing major paving before school starts. Jeff said the only likely remaining work after paving may be shoulder graveling, which requires letting pavement harden before returning heavy machines. Board members also raised brush-cutting and sight-line concerns after a recent crash near the rail trail. Jeff said crews have prioritized roads scheduled for resurfacing and that it will take time to open sight lines townwide; the town is not currently using community-service crews for brush work because of liability concerns. Next steps: crews will place shoulder gravel from screened millings on specified roads this week; the road agent will continue ditching and shoulder projects and coordinate timing with the school calendar.