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Fifth Street & Grove Street Reconstruction Project

Roadway construction begins Oct. 23
On-street parking prohibited; rolling road closures

The project contractor will begin construction of the roadway within the project limits Wednesday, Oct. 23. Roadway construction entails removing two feet of the current top material and replacing it with crushed gravel followed by grading the full width of the road from curb to curb. Weather and other conditions permitting, base pavement is tentatively scheduled to occur the week of Nov. 4, following the completion of the crush gravel installation and roadway grading.

The contractor will start on Grove Street at Sixth Street and work towards Fifth Street, weather permitting. During the week of Oct. 28, they'll continue on Grove Street towards Fourth Street. 

The contractor will distribute door notices to alert residents when they will be working directly in front of their properties.

The work will require intermittent closing of sections of streets within the project area. On-street parking will be prohibited within the work zone during project hours, between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Two-week project outlook

Week of Oct. 21

  • Miscellaneous drainage work on Grove Street;
  • Roadway construction on Grove Street;
  • Excavation and installation of duct banks.

Week of Oct. 28

  • Miscellaneous drainage work on Fifth Street between Grove and Fourth streets;
  • Roadway construction on Grove Street;
  • Excavation and installation of duct banks.

Please note: the schedule is subject to change due to weather and other conditions.

Questions or concerns? Please contact:

Jillian Semprini, City of Dover – Assistant Engineer
603-516-6450
j.semprini@dover.nh.gov

Hakan Coban, Woodard and Curran – Onsite Resident Project Representative
978-775-2046
Hakan.Coban@WoodardCurran.com

Tree removal

As a matter of policy, the City of Dover tries to avoid tree removal at all costs unless necessary for a project.

Last year, the city contracted with a consultant expert to complete a city-wide condition and assessment of all public-owned sidewalks and pedestrian ramps. The consultant rated the sidewalk conditions in the Fifth and Grove project area to be poor to fair condition, and most were not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

The project will provide five-foot-wide concrete ADA sidewalks compliant to ensure they are accessible for all. In most locations, they will also include a vegetated buffer between the sidewalk and the road. Unfortunately, 15 trees are being removed to provide an adequate and safe travel way, with sidewalks and parking on both sides of the street within the limited public right-of-way. However, 19 new trees will be planted, including Red Maple, Northern Red Oak and Sweet Gum Tree. These improvements will ultimately benefit the neighborhood by ensuring a safer, more functional, and resilient infrastructure.

The project is in line with the City of Dover’s Central Business District (CBD) Street Tree Plan, endorsed by the Planning Board, which includes provisions for strategic tree replacements. The CBD Street Tree Plan prioritizes the retention of existing trees, when possible, but recognizes the need to remove trees that are no longer appropriate for a site. The city views street trees as a critical part of an urban forest that provides a wide range of ecological, social, and economic benefits. Among the city’s goals for enhancing tree canopy cover include improving stormwater management, filtering air pollutants, and lowering surface and air temperatures, as stated in the CBD Street Plan and the Master Plan’s Climate Adaptation Chapter. Street trees planted today typically have tap roots and deeper and more vertical roots as they have been found to promote greater infiltration than species with fibrous roots and more lateral, shallower roots. Deeper roots can help preserve sidewalks longer than trees with roots that tend to spread horizontally.

Careful consideration has been put into the recommended species selections in the CBD Street Tree Plan due to the environment that street trees inhabit which can involve poor drainage, limited sunlight, concentration of car exhaust and animal waste, and the presence of public infrastructure that can incur damage from tree roots and branches as well as interfere with tree growth. As part of the Fifth and Grove project outreach, the public also participated in surveys to help the city decide which trees to plant.

With all of these aspects in mind, the new street trees will be planted in a manner that promotes the life of the tree and a sustainable and aesthetically pleasing streetscape, contributing to the overall improvements of the project. There is also an effort underway to plant an additional 20 street trees in other areas around the CBD in the near term.

City Council awards construction bid

The Dover City Council at its March 27, 2024 meeting unanimously authorized awarding the construction bid for the Fifth and Grove Reconstruction Project to  N. Granese & Sons of Salem, Massachusetts for a cost not to exceed $5,147,405. Click here for the resolution. 

The Council also authorized engineering consultant Woodard & Curran, of Andover, Massachusetts to provide construction oversight, which includes a resident engineer on the project site, for $436,000. This brings their contract total to $713,409, which also includes creating engineered construction documents. Click here for the resolution. 

City staff will organize a neighborhood meeting with the public and the contractor to discuss the project scope and impacts before work begins, which is anticipated to start later this spring.

About the project

The City of Dover has targeted Fifth Street and Grove Street for reconstruction to upgrade underground utilities and address drainage concerns and roadway/sidewalk conditions. 

The City of Dover is committed to a multi-modal approach to roadway design, particularly in urban residential areas. The City of Dover has tasked the design consultant to design the reconstruction project so that streets and sidewalks are safe and accessible for all users regardless of age, physical ability or mode of transport. To that end, the project will incorporate the City of Dover's Complete Streets & Traffic Calming Guidelines. The design consultant is evaluating utilities as part of creating its initial base survey of the project.  

Neighborhood meetings held

April 30, 2024

City staff held a preconstruction neighborhood meeting on the Fifth and Grove Reconstruction Project on April 30, 2024 at the Dover Police Station, 46 Chestnut St. Staff from the construction contractor, N. Granese & Sons., and the design engineering consultant, Woodard & Curran, discussed the project and answered questions.

The project begins in May 2024 and continues through December 2024, weather and other conditions permitting. Final paving will occur in 2025.

July 10, 2023

Community Services hosted neighborhood meeting about the project on July 10 at the McConnell Center. At the meeting, staff reviewed the draft engineered plans with the public. The reconstruction project, scheduled as part of the City's Capital Improvements Program, will encompass roadway reconstruction, upgrading underground utilities, and addressing drainage, roadway, and sidewalk conditions.

July 19, 2022

Community Services hosted neighborhood meeting about the project on July 19 at the Community Services public works facility at 271 Mast Road. At the meeting, the city staff and the design consultant went over the project goals gathered insight and ideas from residents, businesses and community members. 

Email updates

As the project develops, the City of Dover plans regular email updates to help residents and businesses plan for the construction disruption. To sign up for these updates, visit https://bit.ly/dovernewsletters, and add “Project update: Fifth Street and Grove Street Reconstruction” to your current email subscription list. 

Map of project area

FIFTH&GROVEMAP

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