Construction Impacts

Projects of Note

Four Tree Island -- Please be advised that a DPW work crew is repairing the sidewalks in the vicinity of the bathrooms on Four Tree Island and is placing work materials in the area. 

Woodbury Avenue -- Water main is installed and tested. Service tie-ins this week and next. 

Development-related Work

  • Maplewood Avenue: a private construction crew is installing a waterline to the 100 Durgin project.
  • Deer Street sidewalk repairs started WED Nov 5 on the right-hand side (heading toward Market St.) with work on the other side planned for the week of Nov 10.
  • The 2 Russell Street project will start drainage installation at the Deer and Maplewood intersection starting on Monday, Nov 10. Flaggers will be in place. No road closure necessary.

Campus Drive Athletic Fields

Quirk began construction of the new field on October 9. Work continues to spring.

Pinehurst Street

The temporary water main and connection to houses were changed over to the new main on WED Nov 5. There will be temporary, 30-minute water service interruptions with notice given a minimum of 2 hours in advance. Flaggers will be in place to direct any temporary interruptions in traffic flow.

Vaughan Mall Reconstruction

Week of November 10: Work includes: temporary paving of disturbed area and sewer manhole removal on Hanover Street. Water main installation and tie-in on Hanover Street will begin on Wednesday, November 12.  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.

Maplewood Avenue Bridge

BOTH lanes of the bridge are now open to two-way vehicular traffic. Concrete barriers will remain along the southern sidewalk until construction is complete. Pedestrian access continues.  Week of November 10: Work continues within the bridge closure limits on the south side. Construction activity includes removal of the south side form work and installation of south side bridge rail. The bridge work will continue on the south side through November as the contractor replaces the sidewalks and railings. For additional background 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 continue to collect speed and volume data on Bartlett Street to see how traffic is adjusting to the new roadway and intersection configurations. These summary reports of speed studies conducted at #314 Bartlett Street, located halfway between Thornton Street and Pine Street. The first was conducted in November 2019 before the reconstruction project, the second one in October 2025 after the completion of the project. The results indicate that the average speeds at this location have decreased from the previous average of 24 MPH to the current average of 21 MPH. Additional speed monitoring will continue to be conducted at locations along Bartlett Street between Dennett Street and Cate Street. 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.

Middle/Miller/Summer Street Intersection Signals 

Week of November 10:  The traffic signals and pedestrian crossing lights are installed and are scheduled to begin operating on Monday, November 10. For more information, visit the project page. 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. Drivers 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 I-95 Southbound Night Work

NHDOT will start night work for the Portsmouth project on I-95 Southbound on I-95 for the next several months. This work will consist of the placement of portable concrete barrier along the Southbound right shoulder starting at the Exit 7 off ramp (MM 15.6) to the Exit 5 off ramp (MM 14.0). The existing shoulder will be reduced from 13 feet to 2 feet. The Part Time Shoulder Use Lane will be unavailable for the duration of this closure. This work will require the use of lane closures; the right lane and shoulder of Southbound I-95 will be closed nightly from MM 15.6 to MM 14.0.   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 NHDOT project.