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Selectboard authorizes Larry Taylor to decide on Archertown Road gravel after failed test; Jacobs Brook bridge update
Summary
The Selectboard authorized member Larry Taylor to decide whether to accept a second gravel test for Archertown Road Phase II while Road Agent Ted Nutter is on vacation; the board also received an update that the Jacobs Brook bridge project will not require Eversource pole moves and will use rock drilling rather than blasting.
The Orford Selectboard on Aug. 14 authorized Selectboard member Larry Taylor to make the town’s decision on whether to accept gravel for Phase II of Archertown Road if a second test fails while Road Agent Ted Nutter is on vacation.
Road Agent Ted Nutter reported that the project has advanced to culvert header construction by Bill Wilson and that Wanner Earthmoving placed a thin lift of sand and smoothed the roadway. The plan calls next for Geo-grid installation and a gravel cover; however, the first gravel test failed to meet New Hampshire Department of Transportation specifications and a second test result was due on Aug. 15. Nutter told the board the project engineer is concerned that a substandard gravel could retain moisture once paved, and that finding a new gravel source is complicated because many pits in the north remain depleted after recent storms.
“Given the timing of my vacation, I need direction on who will decide if the material is acceptable,” Nutter said. Selectboard member Larry Taylor said that if a test result is “within a few points” he was comfortable proceeding and the board authorized Taylor to make the decision upon receipt of the second test results.
Separately, Selectboard member Kevin Follensbee reported on a Jacobs Brook bridge phone conference for the Archertown Road project. Eversource confirmed utility poles will not need to be moved for the bridge work, and abutters’ concerns about blasting were addressed: the contractor’s plan is to drill and pin into the rock face rather than use blasting. Follensbee said he is working to finalize agreements with affected abutters.
The board also discussed material availability more broadly, noting that state and municipal demand for aggregate after storm damage has strained regional supplies. Nutter thanked Follensbee for on-site help with storm repairs in late July.
Next steps: the Selectboard will await the second gravel test results and Taylor will announce the town’s decision; the bridge design will proceed with the noted utility and abutter agreements.
