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N.H. DOT seeks to dissolve decades-old circumferential highway layout; offers surplus parcels for town review
Summary
DOT officials told the council they intend to formally dissolve the long-dormant circumferential highway layout and dispose of 59 corridor parcels (12 in Merrimack); the council voted to decline acquisition of the occupied properties offered and directed the town manager to complete paperwork.
Officials from the New Hampshire Department of Transportation told the Merrimack Town Council on Jan. 8 that the state plans to dissolve the layout for the long-planned circumferential highway and dispose of properties acquired along the corridor.
Bill Oldenburg of N.H. DOT said the circumferential highway project dates to the 1950s and advanced through hearings in the 1980s and 1990s; an EPA intent-to-veto in 1994 over wetland impacts effectively halted the project and it was removed from the state’s 10-year plan in 2008. DOT said development since then has made the original layout obsolete and that dissolving the layout is largely a formalization of a project that has been inactive for decades.
DOT staff said the agency owns 59 parcels along the corridor, 19 of which are improved; within Merrimack DOT owns 12 parcels (nine improved, including six condos at Harris Pond and three homes near Thornton Road West). The state said it notified tenants in November that leases would terminate by May 30, and it has offered occupied parcels to towns and the New Hampshire Housing and Finance Authority at fair market value before marketing them.
Councilors asked whether parcels could be used for conservation or to satisfy wetland mitigation associated with other DOT projects. DOT said a market analysis and long-range committee approvals would be required for sales, the town would have the right of first refusal on surplus parcels, and sales must proceed at fair market value with governor and council approval.
The council voted 7-0 to "express no interest in the acquisition of any of the improved properties as presented by the Department of Transportation," meaning the town will not pursue purchase of the occupied rental units offered. The council also authorized the town manager to sign any necessary follow-up documentation reflecting that decision.
DOT said it will meet with neighboring towns, host an informational meeting in Hudson, and submit a resolution to the governor and executive council to dissolve the highway layout.
