Clearing the way is less than half done

So far, $9.2 million has been spent buying and relocating various properties associated with the Broad Street Parkway.

But the job of clearing the way for the road is less than half done, according to a consultant’s report for the state this year.

The state will help the city acquire properties that fall within the right of way, Department of Transportation municipal highways engineer Nancy Mayville said. It will fall on city officials to decide which properties need to be bought to accommodate the parkway, she said.

It’s still unknown who will oversee the project. Aldermen last week debated whether the city or state should have control, whereas Mayville said it’s a municipal project in which the state will assist.

Roughly $11 million more is needed to complete the acquisition, plus other costs such as demolition and property management, depending on which option is chosen for a route.

Option 1, which would route most of the traffic to West Hollis and Kinsley streets on the southern end, is more expensive: It would require an estimated $11.7 million in property acquisition and related costs.

Option 2, which straightens the Nashua River Bridge, has less realignment of intersections at the southern end and routes more traffic along Central, Water and Factory streets toward Main Street, would require about $10.4 million worth of acquisition.

Overall, obtaining the necessary land will cost around a third of the total cost of the parkway, which is estimated to run between $52 million and $66 million, depending on final details.

Several properties wouldn’t have to be bought under the second option. Some are on Pine Street Extension in the millyard, but most are on Stevens Avenue and Everett Street next to Ledge Street at the southern end of the connector.

In 2002, the New Hampshire Department of Transportation budgeted $16.6 million to buy buildings and property for the Broad Street Parkway.

The state has already bought two parcels on Prescott Road and one on Amherst Street that were needed under the original plan, which called for a four-lane road with an addition known as the Sargent Avenue connector, but which aren’t needed under the smaller, two-lane proposal.