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State plans five‑lane widening on Hooksett Road; town raises access and business concerns and plans outreach on TIF defeat
Summary
Town engineer Bruce Thomas summarized the state’s Hooksett Road widening (to five lanes) and a public comment deadline; committee members discussed access impacts at Mammoth Road and Parkette Pools, the possibility the state could revisit roundabout designs, and municipal outreach after a failed TIF bond vote for Exits 10–11.
Bruce Thomas, Hooksett’s town engineer, told the committee the state Department of Transportation held a public hearing on a Hooksett Road (Route 3A) widening project that would expand the road to five lanes and add signalized intersections at West Dallas Avenue and at Mammoth Road. "Basically the project is really widening it to 5 lanes and there'll now be signalized intersections at West Dallas Ave and at, and at Mammoth Road," Thomas said, and noted the state posted plan sheets and a public comment transcript is expected online.
Thomas and committee members discussed a remaining design question: whether the Mammoth Road intersection should be a roundabout or remain signalized. Committee members said the town council had indicated it preferred signalized intersections, but the state could still propose alternatives during the design process. Thomas warned the state could return and ask the town to reconsider that intersection if the DOT deems a roundabout preferable.
Committee members raised specific business and access impacts. Parkette Pools and an auto‑body shop were described as potentially affected by new medians and driveway realignments; the plan will remove one corner building at 1234 Hooksett Road (described in the meeting as the corner building that “sticks right out on the corner”). Concern focused on left‑turn restrictions, reduced gaps in median openings and whether trucks and deliveries would be able to maneuver under either design.
Thomas said the state’s public comment window closed on May 27, and that preliminary design will take additional years; project construction was discussed as likely starting in 2028, after design and right‑of‑way work and potential easement takings.
The meeting shifted to post‑election outreach after an unsuccessful bond measure related to Exit 10 and Exit 11 infrastructure. Members discussed doing targeted communications — newsletter blurbs, social media posts, short videos and forum events — to explain the purpose of the TIF district and the benefits of sewer and infrastructure investments. The committee recommended using the town’s website, the town Facebook page and third‑party local groups to reach residents and business owners, and suggested working with town administration to prepare brief, plain‑language messaging before the next ballot cycle.
No formal vote was taken on the DOT project or outreach plan at the meeting. The committee recorded direction to pursue outreach and education about the TIF and infrastructure needs and to track the state design process for Hooksett Road.
Ending: The committee asked staff to monitor the DOT project pages for plan updates, encouraged affected property owners to review the state plan sheets and submit comments, and directed EDAC to draft outreach materials explaining TIF benefits for the September/October communications cycle.
