Portsmouth council approves Coakley Road connector plan to speed culvert replacement

The Portsmouth City Council voted unanimously to proceed with a planned connector roadway between Coakley Road and Borthwick Avenue intended to let crews replace a failing culvert over Hodgson Brook more quickly and at lower cost.

City engineers told the council the culvert is on a “red list” for structurally deficient bridges. Building a new connector across portions of two private parcels would allow the city to close Coakley Road during construction, avoiding complex in-place work in wetland areas and speeding the replacement. Eric Eby, the city engineer, said the connector would also provide a second egress for residents of the Coakley neighborhood, a sidewalk connection to the Borthwick Avenue multiuse path and an opportunity to remove a nearby traffic signal as part of a longer-term state-funded plan for the bypass.

How the…