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Keene, NHDOT and KPD weigh fixes after multiple serious crashes at Route 9–Sullivan Road intersection
Summary
City engineers and Keene Police presented a record of multiple serious crashes at the Route 9–Sullivan Road intersection; NHDOT urged study and said many low‑cost countermeasures have limited evidence of effectiveness, while councilors and residents pushed for quicker, implementable steps.
City engineering staff, Keene Police and representatives from the New Hampshire Department of Transportation presented an overview of repeated, serious collisions at the intersection of New Hampshire Route 9 and Sullivan Road and discussed a range of possible countermeasures.
City Engineer Brian Roff said the city’s consultant had reviewed the location as part of a Safe Streets for All effort and that public outreach generated roughly 20 emails and a public meeting of about 50 people. He summarized safety concerns including limited sight distance, a westbound passing lane that creates passing/turning conflicts, and the increasing frequency of serious collisions.
Detective/Lieutenant Chidester of the Keene Police Department, who leads the department’s collision analysis team, detailed serious collisions: a 2019 two‑vehicle crash with serious injury; a 2023 three‑vehicle crash that left a driver with severe, likely permanent arm injury; and multiple 2024 multi‑vehicle incidents, including collisions that involved tractor‑trailers and a motorcycle ejection with serious injury. "Clearly, there is a history of serious collisions here, and the incidence of those collisions, it seems to be increasing," Chidester said.
Public suggestions ranged from installing flashing or intersection warning beacons, reduced posted speeds, rumble strips, restriping to add a dedicated left‑turn lane, improved lighting and vegetation clearing, to full reconstruction or a roundabout. Frank Linnenbringer, assistant district engineer for NHDOT, cautioned that many commonly proposed low‑cost measures (for example, flashing yellow beacons) often lose effectiveness over time and may not be supported by traffic warrants; he noted average travel speeds in the mid‑50s mph and said large reconstruction projects would be submitted through the DOT’s 10‑year plan and likely take years.
DOT and city staff said some near‑term items might be feasible if supported by study (for example, targeted restriping), but several councilors urged the city and DOT to identify implementable steps before winter. Council members pressed for staff to return with specific, near‑term proposals rather than placing the project solely in longer‑term DOT programming.
Next steps from city staff included reviewing the consultant recommendations, compiling additional turning‑movement counts and crash statistics, coordinating with DOT on feasible treatments for state right‑of‑way, and returning to the committee with recommended short‑ and long‑term actions.
