DOT draft 10-year plan cuts and delays include regional projects; Brentwood hearing scheduled Sept. 18

Planning staff updated the board on the New Hampshire Department of Transportation’s draft 10-year plan and the state’s public hearings (Gassett hearings) where residents may comment on project removals and funding changes.

Staff reported that initial drafts of the DOT plan showed large shortfalls driven by inflation and operational costs, prompting recommendations to reallocate federal dollars from new projects to paving and bridge repairs. The draft plan removes or delays several projects — including some projects that had been Rockingham Planning Commission (RPC) priorities — and cancels 34 projects entirely from the 10-year capital plan. Several local RPC-priority projects were affected, prompting concern from the planning board.

Brentwood’s Gassett hearing is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 18 at 6 p.m. at the Brentwood Recreation Center; other hearings in the region and tentative dates (Greenland, Claremont, Manchester, Derry, Hampton, Plaistow) were also noted. Planning staff encouraged board members and residents to attend and to contact state representatives or councilors to express local priorities. Staff said DOT may be signalling that, absent new revenue (for example, toll or fuel-tax increases), the agency will prioritize preservation over new capacity projects.

Board members discussed the political difficulty of raising new transportation revenue but noted that public engagement at the Gassett hearings is the primary avenue for local communities to register objections and suggest alternatives. The board asked staff to notify local legislators and to circulate hearing dates to the public.

Ending: The board will share hearing dates and encourage public participation; staff will follow up with the town’s state representatives and provide additional materials to residents ahead of the Sept. 18 hearing at the Recreation Center.