KEENE, NH – The Mayor’s Steering Committee for the Lower Winchester Street Reconstruction project in Keene has made their recommendations.

City Engineer Don Lussier and Gene McCarthy of McFarnald Johnson, the consultant on the project, gave a presentation to the Keene City Council at their full meeting Thursday evening.

The project area includes all of Winchester Street south of the Route 101 roundabout, over the Swanzey town line, and to the intersection with Market Basket. McCarthy broke the area up into three segments; the north segment from the roundabout to Krif Road, the middle segment from Krif Road to Matthews Road, and the south segment from Matthews Road to Market Basket in Swanzey.

Lussier said the committee did not come to a unanimous decision on their recommendations but were able to make some, nonetheless.

For the North Segment, north of Krif Road, the committee considered three designs, the existing 3 lane section, a 5-lane section with a center turn lane, sidewalk, and bike lane, and a median divided 4-lane section also with a sidewalk and bike lane. The committee ultimately recommended the dived 4-lane median design. That would eliminate notoriously difficult left hand turns onto Winchester Street in favor of a hybrid roundabout at Krif Road.

In the middle segment, north of Matthews Road, the committee considered similar designs, the existing 2-lane section, a 3-lane section with a center turn lane, sidewalk, and bike lane, and a median divided 2-lane section with a sidewalk and bike lane. Once again, the committee recommended the median divided design, also eliminating left hand turns through that stretch with a hybrid roundabout at Matthews Road.

Finally in the south segment they considered the existing 2-lane section, a 2-lane section with a sidewalk and bike lane, and a 3-lane section with a center turn lane, sidewalk, and bike lane. They recommended the option with the center turn lane with a single lane roundabout at Market Basket.

The intersection in question with Market Basket is in the town of Swanzey and the city has been working with Town Administrator Mike Branley during the committee process. Lussier will give a similar presentation to Swanzey’s selectboard next week, the final proposal there is up to the town for approval from NH DOT.

Now, the project moves on to the Municipal Services, Facilities, and Infrastructure Committee at their next meeting on September 27th, where community members are able to comment. Once it finishes in the committee process it’ll go to the full council for adoption of the proposed action, then it will go through more studies and detailed design processes before construction begins in the Summer of 2025. Lussier did note during Thursday’s presentation however that he wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t wind up breaking ground until 2026.

If the council was to approve the recommendations as presented, there would be a stretch of six roundabouts through the corridor, starting at the intersection with Pearl and Island Street, then at Key Road, Route 101, Krif Road, Matthews Road, and finally at Market Basket.