Construction Impacts

Week of September 29:  Begin sewer and drain installation. TUES Sep 30 -- Starting at 10 pm, night work on water system improvements will affect the upper block of Congress Street. For safety, pedestrians are asked to comply with any barricades, sidewalk closure signs and directions from flaggers to help them navigate around the work areas.  A public information meeting was held July 7, 2025 to discuss options for the landscape redesign of Vaughan Mall once the underground infrastructure is replaced. A pre-construction meeting on that work, scheduled to start after Labor Day, was held on August 20. For the meeting presentations and video recordings, more information and to sign up for future email updates, visit the project page.

Islington Street

Week of September 29:  State Street sewer and drainage work continues, requiring a parking ban and detour impacting the block between Middle Street and Summer Street 7am-4pm, daily for about 10 days. For the project overview: March 19, 2024 public meeting presentation and video recording, additional background information and to sign up to receive weekly updates on the project, visit the project page. 

Bartlett Street

TRAFFIC ALERT: As part of the design, the four-way stop at Thornton and Bartlett Streets has been REPLACED with a two-way stop. There are stop signs now on Thornton Street, not Bartlett. Please be extra cautious because of this permanent change. City staff are collecting speed and volume data on Bartlett Street over the coming weeks to see how traffic is adjusting to the new roadway and intersection configurations. The data will be analyzed to determine the impact of the project on vehicle operations and will be compared to data collected prior to the project construction. The data will be posted to the website when available. For the March 27, 2024 public meeting presentation and video recording, additional background information and to sign up to receive weekly updates on the project, visit the project page.

Maplewood Avenue Bridge

Week of September 29: Work continues within the bridge closure limits on the south side. Construction activity includes continued reconstruction of the southern rail support slab. The bridge work will continue on the south side through November as the contractor replaces the sidewalks and railings. The outbound lane will remain closed throughout the summer. Pedestrian access will be maintained at all times via the northern sidewalk. For detour options, the meeting presentation, design plans, additional background and to sign up to receive weekly updates on the project, visit the project page.

Union Street

Paving is complete. Weeds will be managed and loamed areas will be re-seeded in the fall. Following up on punchlist items. For more information in the April 2, 2024 meeting presentation and video recording and to sign up to receive weekly updates on the project, visit the project page.

Middle/Miller/Summer Street Intersection Signals 

Construction has started with site conduit and sidewalk work expected to be completed by mid-October. Installation of the traffic signal equipment is estimated for December 2025 and will be dependent on the equipment manufacturer’s schedule. Electric Light is the contractor. For more information, visit the project page. Please note that the pedestrian crossing lights are not functional at this time. Their replacement is part of the bigger project. As a reminder to pedestrians, at a crossing where there are no pedestrian signals, pedestrians must obey the red, yellow, or green signal lights, crossing when traffic in their intended path is stopped. Driver must yield to pedestrians at all times.

Hanover Garage

The Hanover Garage is in year two of a three-year renovation. Questions? Contact the Parking Office at 603-610-7257. Go to the Hanover Garage Project page for more information.

DPW Facilities Improvements

The construction crew continues work on the expanded facilities behind the building at 680 Peverly Hill Road. Work will continue 7 days a week (including Saturday and Sunday), 7 am to 6 pm, through November to complete the work before the end of the construction season. The work does not affect access to the Recycling Center. For more information, go to the project page.

NHDOT Exit 7 I-95 South Ramp 

The south-bound entry ramp for Exit 7 closed again on September 21 and will remain closed until October 3 to complete sound wall installation. Traffic will be detoured to the Portsmouth Traffic from Submarine Way for I-95 southbound access.  Message boards, uniformed officers, traffic control devices, and smart work zone devices will be used to notify the travelling public.  This work is part of the construction of two sound abatement walls and privacy fence along I-95 in Portsmouth. Northeast Earth Mechanics, Inc. of Pittsfield, New Hampshire is the general contractor for the $18.7 million project, which is scheduled for completion in the fall of 2025.  

NHDOT Lafayette Road (Route 1)

NH Department of Transportation (NH DOT) presented updated plans for its Lafayette Road (Route 1) Corridor Improvement Project to the City Council on May 5. For background visit the Project Website (Portsmouth 29640) with the full US Route 1 Corridor Plan. NH DOT also advises that anyone with comments or concerns about this project should contact David Smith, P.E. - Project Manager, NH Department of Transportation | P.O. Box 483, Concord NH 03302