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Exeter Planning Board backs letter supporting SS4A grant for safety upgrades on New Hampshire 27
Summary
The Planning Board voted to send a letter of support for a federal Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) grant that would fund pedestrian, bike, turning-lane and intersection improvements along New Hampshire Route 27; preliminary cost estimates are $16–17 million and the town would likely seek a roughly 20% match if funded.
The Exeter Planning Board unanimously voted May 14 to send a letter of support for a Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) grant application targeting improvements along New Hampshire Route 27.
Town staff member Dave McCloud outlined the proposal, saying the corridor work would extend from the traffic lights at Continental Drive on Epping Road through downtown Main/Water/High streets and on toward Guinea Road and Hampton Road, including improved crosswalks, sidewalks, bike lanes, center turn lanes and intersection modifications. "Preliminary costs are about 16 17 million dollars," McCloud said, and SS4A grants range from a two-and-a-half million dollar minimum up to $25 million. He told the board the application is due May 26, 2026.
The board discussed elements drawn from prior studies — a VHB corridor study, Stantec downtown parking and traffic analysis, the Rockingham Regional Planning Commission safety action plan, the bike-and-ped master plan and the town's complete-streets policy — and noted that specific design work would determine whether signalization or other alternatives are pursued at particular intersections. McCloud said some options (for example a roundabout at Holland/Hampton) may require right-of-way acquisition, while other alternatives would avoid that need.
Board members asked for clarification on intersections and whether signalization was assumed; McCloud said signalization was one of several alternatives identified during prior analyses and that final designs will be developed through the project design process. The plan includes walking connections to the new Recreation Center and the Cooperative Middle School.
If the town receives an award, McCloud said staff would bring a warrant article to a future town meeting asking voters to approve an approximate 20% local match (about $3 million on a $16–17 million package). Chair Langdon Plummer confirmed the board’s support and said he would sign the letter once the final draft was ready.
The board approved the motion to send the letter and authorize the chair to sign it by unanimous voice vote.
