Court St. closing Oct. 18 for bridge replacement

LACONIA — Motorists who travel the length of Court Street will soon need to detour the major thoroughfare while a new bridge is installed across Durkee Brook, the Public Works Department reports.

The street will be closed to through traffic starting Monday, Oct. 18, and is scheduled to remain closed until Nov. 19, Public Works Director Wes Anderson said Tuesday.

Crews are presently finishing up work on the water and storm drain lines in preparation of the bridge installation, Anderson explained.

Soon after the actual installation work gets underway crews from Evroks Corp. will install new pilings behind the existing bridge abutments. Once that is complete a prefabricated 27-foot-long span will be brought to the site and placed on the new pilings, Anderson said.

Businesses along the street will be open throughout the process and the street will be open to local traffic. Through traffic will need to detour the area by using South Main Street and the Laconia Bypass.

The bridge and its approaches will have a base layer of asphalt laid down before the entire project wraps up for the season around Dec. 10. The finish coat — or upper layer of pavement — will be applied next spring, Anderson said.

The $2.68 million project is being funded jointly by the city and the state, with the state underwriting 80 percent of the cost and the city covering the remaining 20 percent. The city is managing the project, Anderson said.

The bridge replacement is the final part of a three-phase project to upgrade Court Street which began in 2019 with work between Keasor Court and Fair Street, and continued last year with work between Fair Street and Main Street.