DPW Press Releases

The Portsmouth Department of Public Works will be hosting a public meeting to discuss the construction phase of the utility and neighborhood reconstruction project within the Hanover Street area on Thursday, April 4th beginning at 6:00 p.m. at City Hall in Conference Room A.

Public Works and Sargent Corporation will be hosting a public meeting at the Department of Public Works (680 Peverly Hill Road) on Wednesday, April 3rd at 6 p.m. to discuss the next phase of the Maplewood Avenue reconstruction project.

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) released for public comment its health consultation report, “Per and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in the Pease Public Water System,” in Portsmouth, Newington, and Greenland, New Hampshire. ATSDR will accept comments from the public until June 3, 2019.

Construction of a new sidewalk along Spinney Road from the Sewell Road area to Middle Road is anticipated to begin in early April. The City has awarded this project to Advanced Excavation, whose work will include a new concrete sidewalk following the east side of Spinney Road. This work is anticipated to last several weeks, with traffic impacts due to equipment in the roadway.

The Pleasant Street Reconstruction Project, which began last summer, is resuming this week. Work will begin at the South Mill Pond tidal outlet on Marcy Street; this work will include the water main replacement under the culvert. Residents' water access will not be affected and they can anticipate this work to be completed by Friday, April 12th. Work between Court Street and State Street is expected to start towards the end of next week, or the week of April 15th.

Public Works crews recently installed a platform ideal for eagle or osprey nesting behind the Peirce Island Wastewater Treatment Facility. The platform, built by Steve Miller of Great Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, came to fruition thanks to a $1,500 grant from Northeast Utilities, now Eversource, obtained by the City’s Sustainability Department.

Similar to other special City events in the past, those attending 3S Artspace’s (3S) Project Upcycle Runway Event on Saturday, March 30th, will be able to park at the Foundry Place Parking Garage for a discounted rate.

City staff, along with their design engineers from McFarland Johnson, will be hosting a public meeting at the Department of Public Works at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, March 27th to review preliminary design plans for Peverly Hill Road.

Detailed inspections of the Kearsarge Way Bridge over the Pan Am railroad tracks is tentatively scheduled to be conducted on Monday, March 25th, depending on weather conditions. Ground penetrating radar (GPR) scanning of the deck will be used to evaluate the condition of the concrete beneath the asphalt pavement, and concrete core samples will be collected to test the strength of the concrete.

Detailed inspections of the Market Street bridges over North Mill Pond are tentatively scheduled to be conducted on Friday, March 22nd, depending on weather conditions.  The inspections will be conducted using a single under-bridge inspection vehicle.