Revised Work Plan Aims to Keep Keene Downtown Project Moving

Under the proposal, crews would start underground utility work between Water Street and Emerald Street before remaining work in Central Square is finished.

Keene officials and Casella Construction are moving ahead with a new construction sequence for the downtown reconstruction project, a plan designed to speed progress after the job got off to a late start while limiting disruption for businesses and pedestrians.

The revised approach was presented Wednesday at the city’s monthly Coffee and Hard Hats meeting, where Public Works Director Don Lussier and Casella representatives briefed residents, business owners and other community members on the schedule and gathered comments. City staff said the session was meant to collect feedback, not to seek approval for additional work.

Under the proposal, crews would start underground utility work in the stretch between Water Street and Emerald Street before all of the remaining work in Central Square is finished. Casella said splitting the effort between two areas would help the project make up lost time by keeping utility work moving instead of waiting for one section to wrap up first.

The contractor is looking to begin that phase after the Keene Pumpkin Festival. Work would be broken into short segments, with crews handling one utility at a time in roughly week-long sections. The planned order is sewer first, then water, followed by drainage. Casella said it hopes to finish sewer work and move into water installation before cold weather makes digging more difficult.

The water portion would cover about 600 feet of 16-inch pipe from Water Street along the roadway and under areas now used for parking. Casella also said it expects to keep operating into early winter if conditions allow. Because hot-mix asphalt becomes harder to secure after Thanksgiving, the company said it may travel farther to get material needed to patch excavated areas and keep the project advancing.

Most of the work between Water Street and Emerald Street would take place near the edges of the roadway, which should allow traffic to remain open in many cases. Still, some short-term lane restrictions would be needed, and traffic may have to be reduced to a single lane when utility lines cross the street. Davis Street may also close for one day when crews reach that crossing, with a detour set up for drivers.

City and contractor officials said the impacts should be less persistent than the traffic control already required in Central Square. That area remains a major work zone and is expected to stay active through the end of the year.

The updated schedule drew attention from attendees concerned about communication with downtown merchants and residents, especially since the sequence differs from earlier expectations. Participants stressed that businesses need clear notice about how the new plan will affect access. Casella acknowledged the revised phasing marks a change from what had been discussed before.

Public Works said any interruption to utility service will come with at least 72 hours of notice. For ordinary construction activity that does not involve a service outage, no fixed advance-notice rule applies, though the city and contractor said they will continue broader outreach throughout the project.

The roughly $26 million reconstruction is intended to replace worn water, sewer and drainage systems while also improving sidewalks, accessibility, curbs, landscaping and other streetscape features. Officials said the revised phasing is meant to recover some of the time lost at the start of the project and reduce the risk that construction stretches into 2029.