Dateline: Oct. 24, 2023

Good news resulted from an October 18 phone interview with Greg Tedeschi, District Construction Engineer for the NH Department of Transportation (NH DOT). Mr. Tedeschi estimated that the Route 28 bridge between Allenstown and Pembroke could be fully open in about three weeks (around mid-November), depending on the weather.

As shown in the photo, the southbound concrete deck has been poured and cured. The crane and all construction equipment are now off the bridge deck. The safety guard rails have been bolted in place. The expansion joints for the southbound lane are in place and the abutments at each end have been backfilled with gravel.

After suffering damage from a rain-flooded river in July, a coffer dam was successfully reinstalled around the center bridge pier. This allowed the pier to be reinforced to prevent scouring by river debris.

The NH DOT construction crew then plans to install a waterproof membrane to protect the concrete bridge deck from winter road salt. Two layers are applied. The first layer is black membrane. The second layer looks like roll roofing. A propane blowtorch is used to melt the overlapped edges of the "roll roofing" onto the first layer and to each other.

The final step is to pave the deck with asphalt and add a layer of asphalt to smooth the transitions at each end of the southbound bridge deck. This includes adding a shim coating of asphalt to smooth out the slight dip at each end of the northbound lane.

NOTE: A base coat of asphalt was applied on Monday Oct. 23rd.

What You Can Do

Get ready to once again enjoy uninterrupted smooth sailing over the Route 28 bridge. No more crazy drivers running the red light to get across before the other side gets the green light. No more discourteous drivers blocking the Deerfield Rd. intersection. No more risky left turns from Deerfield Rd. onto Route 28 south.

Thank you NH DOT for finally getting the whole bridge rebuilt.