Downtown Project

Construction Info

A new construction schedule has been posted. This new schedule includes work in multiple areas concurrently to complete the project in 2028.

Downtown property owners – reminder: you have an opportunity to upgrade your building’s accessibility and utility infrastructure while the Downtown Project is underway. If interested, call Bill Siemer soon: (603) 352-6550.

Current Phase: Construction Ongoing (Updated 9/24/26)

• Central Square: All new water mains within Central Square are planned to be in the ground by October 1.

• Main Cutover and Testing Protocol: Once installation finishes, Casella must connect the new system to the existing system at a single point, fill the mains, disinfect them, and complete pressure testing before switching over individual building service lines.

• Construction Acceleration Plans: Casella’s strategy now includes working through early winter. A second crew will begin underground utility improvements on Main Street between Water Street and Emerald Street (after the Pumpkin Festival) to keep the project on track for 2028 completion.

• Traffic Control: Central Square is the most difficult segment of the project from a traffic-management perspective because five streets feed into a single node. In contrast, downstream work along Main Street primarily runs along the road edges and parking lanes, which will allow through-traffic to remain open with minimal full detours.

• Utility Outage Notification Timelines: Businesses receive a three-day advance notice when utility services (particularly water supply) will be disrupted. For the primary connection between the old and new mains, a limited group of properties will experience a temporary outage lasting four to six hours. For subsequent individual service tie-ins from the street main to private buildings, outages will generally last no more than a couple of hours per building.

Helpful Information

• Final Design Presentation
• Current Project Phasing Plan – 2026, 2027, and 2028
• Design Visualization – an interactive visual aid showing design info
• Traffic – at least one lane in each direction will be maintained throughout the construction area. When detours are necessary, that info will be posted here.
• Parking Guide – Parking spaces will remain open throughout construction except when they are actively under construction. The public parking lots on Gilbo Ave. and Commercial St. are the best parking options as close to downtown businesses as many of the on-street parking spaces, and the time limits are longer and the fees are lower.
  Downtown Parking Maps
• Project History and Documents

Project News

• 10/2/26 Downtown Project Update: Water Main & Traffic Impacts
• Downtown Project Water Main Work: 10/1/26 Service Update
• 9/25/26 Downtown Project Update: Water Main & Traffic Impacts
• 9/18/26 Downtown Project Update: Water Main & Traffic Impacts Next Week
• Downtown Project Update – 9/11/26 – Water Main Installation, and Parking and Detour Information

Stay Connected

• Join the email list for important construction updates.
• Add George Downing, project Ombudsman, to your contact list, visit him at the Transportation Center, and talk with him about your questions and concerns. Call George at (603) 757-2105
• Attend monthly project updates at City Council MSFI Committee meetings on 4th Wednesday’s at 6:00 PM in City Hall.
  (Open to the public, streamed on YouTube)
• Come to the “Coffee and Hard Hats” meetings on 2nd Wednesdays at 9:00 AM in downtown locations (sign up for updates to be notified) to share plans and schedules for the month ahead and receive public input. In attendance will be Public Works staff, the project Ombudsman, and representatives from the construction contractor and the construction inspection firm.
  (Open to the public)