Section of New Hampshire Street to remain closed this weekend

A section of New Hampshire Street will remain blocked to traffic this weekend, which is traditionally one of the biggest for downtown retailers.

The north half of the 800 block of New Hampshire Street will be closed to southbound traffic until Tuesday, Dec. 1, for work related to the new apartment and office building at Ninth and New Hampshire streets, said Assistant Public Works Director Mark Thiel. The south portion of the block will allow for two-way traffic.

The parking lots to the east and west of New Hampshire will be accessible by driving north from the Ninth and New Hampshire intersection.

The city initially notified residents that portions of that block would be closed until Nov. 21. Contractors later told the city it was considering splitting the project into two phases, with the first complete by Nov. 16 and the second starting in January.

Thiel told city commissioners at a recent meeting that the contractor said doing the project all at once, with an end date of Nov. 30, would be a better option.

“I did have concern about the street being shut down during the holiday season,” Mayor Mike Amyx said at the meeting. “But I visited with the contractor, and it makes more sense if they get in and out and done by the 30th. My main concern is the 25th to the 30th; I don’t want to see that fence up and blocking trade.”

Thiel said he was updated Tuesday that the road would be reopened Dec. 1. On that date, the street configuration will be open to two-way traffic and go back to what it was before the road was closed Nov. 2, with a fence blocking a portion of the street, Thiel said.

The street is closed to allow for the installation of a new waterline.

By Monday, Nov. 30, most of the work would be complete, Thiel said. On Dec. 1, workers will run a fire line and service line to the building at 800 New Hampshire St. that had been home to Pachamamas.