Rt. 109

[Shreddy]

Well, if you travel this road regularly, you know what my gripe is. Let me tip my hat to the very very intelligent person who decided a 2" skim coat over the road would heal the problems!

That road lasted less than six months...

[ApS]

My Dad's still driving that road just short of the one-century mark. :)

He says Rt. 109 has always been sliding towards the lake. :eek2:

[Argie's Wife]

I've traveled that road all my life and it's ALWAYS been a bad road. I was the kid that got car sick just 10 minutes from home and grew up on the Maine side of 109. I hated that road then and I still hate it now! :rolleye1:

[offmycloud]

The frost heaves will calm down by next summer but the potholes will be back. I had the same reaction when I saw them doing that this summer - what a waste of money. Most of the route in NH is pretty swampy so I doubt there is much they can do to fix that other than spend some major money on it.

[Lakesrider]

Hey Shreddy. I take offense that you are posting on this subject. My complete disdain for the condition of this road and the waste of money to skim it is my sole proprietorship. :laugh: Really funny though. I was driving down it yesterday and noticed that my truck was starting to do bumpity, bumpity, bump thing once again, and that the road has cracked up almost the whole 18 mile length. I have complained about this road so much I figured I would leave it alone until someone else noticed it going bad. And you did!:D
Well it was nice while it lasted. What 5 months or so. Sigh! I still find it quite sad as I have mentioned to the Governor that 109 is designated as a scenic byway and thus eligible for federal funding. This is one road which should be improved as it is a major tourist road and Motorcycle rally/tour route. Once again sad that the Gov doesn't look at anything North of Concord.

[tis]

Although I think they are talking about 109 from Wolfeboro to Moultonboro, which I agree is awful, I can sympathinze with you AW. Rte. 109 by the lake in Sanbornville is one of the most car sick roads around! I hate that road. I have been car sick there more than once!

[Shreddy]

Although I think they are talking about 109 from Wolfeboro to Moultonboro, which I agree is awful, I can sympathinze with you AW. Rte. 109 by the lake in Sanbornville is one of the most car sick roads around! I hate that road. I have been car sick there more than once!

Yup, I was referring to the section from Moultonboro to Wolfeboro (my daily commute). It's obnoxious once again and as mentioned is cracked up pretty good. Can't say we didn't see this one coming!

[Pepper]

Oh do I feel your pain! The condition is identical on Route 11 from Ellacoya all the way to the traffic circle. It started bumping up late last week, and each day my car suffers worse than the day before. It won't be long at all before the oil-pan-snagging heave shows up right at Riley Rd. Around about that time my commute time will increase by about 15 minutes - accounting for slowdowns, drive-arounds, etc. I just love Route 11. :rolleye1:

[Merrymeeting]

Can we add Rt 28 between Alton and Barnsted? :eek:

[NoBozo]

As an Outlander.....I am appalled at the comments here about RT 109 from Wolfeboro to Moultonboro. Prior to the repaving last summer, the road WAS horrible. I was at the lake in late September and drove 109 from Wolfeboro to the Woodshed a couple of times. The new road was PERFECT.

I commented to my wife..and guests, that there had to be more to this road repaving than just "Skimming" with 2" of new asphault. You don't get rid of BIG lumps and heaves just by laying down two inches more of asphault over the old lumps. You have to do some grinding...maybe some digging.

I have an engineering background and am incessently probing "How Things Are Done". The road had to have been reconstructed to some degree prior to the new "Skim" to make it as flat as it was in September.

Todays Road Condition as related in this thread cannot be ignored either. Did anyone actually keep track of What Was Done. :confused: NB

[eyenotall777]

Hey Merrymeeting-

Not sure if you have driven this route lately, but it has all been re-done at least the last 2 1/2months. I think it's a great ride now. They've re-done a pretty good stretch.:)

[Capt Bart]

How soon we forget how bad it was 2 years ago (And will be again soon) I know in my truck I would go to Wolfboro via 171. However to fix it they have to rebed it, like the section at pier 19, and thats just not going to happen! Oh well this is our new gov. at work. It's all down hill from here.

[KPW]

NoBozo - kept track of what was done - skim only - no reconstruction what so ever. They roughed up all the bridges - that was it.

[Shreddy]

NoBozo - kept track of what was done - skim only - no reconstruction what so ever. They roughed up all the bridges - that was it.

Yup, I drove it everyday while it was being done...only a skimcoat with no prep done other than that machine that makes the ground wet. :laugh:

[mets3007]

Thank god they repaved scenic road that was horrible right past the boardwalk til almost the end of it at RT3. Rt 11 is horrible right past Alton always bumpy.

[trfour]

When I first moved up here to Paugus Bay back in 1992, I worked over in Gonic NH full time... Now, I knew what I was moving into and had an over the road rig that got me over the humps, so to speak.

Affectionately named, ' Little Foot ' got me around, and towed many a snowmobile trailer in Blizzards to delightful rides on the other side.
She had a tricked and header tuned 460 cu" motor that never quit.
For the techies, 10 MPG, whether towing or not.

Here's a view

[Lakesrider]

trfour...LOL. I still think the road is much better now, but in a few years we will once again be looking at Baja trucks for our daily ride. Albeit Hybrid ones!:D

[Merrymeeting]

Hey Merrymeeting-

Not sure if you have driven this route lately, but it has all been re-done at least the last 2 1/2months. I think it's a great ride now. They've re-done a pretty good stretch.:)

Actually yes, agreed. It's better than it used to be. Several years ago (it might have been 2006 when sections were washed out), they actually fixed a lot of it, and fixed it the right way. They stripped the base down below grade, removed all the boulders, added several inches of good draining gravel, and then repaved.

Unfotunately, they only did it in sections rather than the whole length. So you still have some sections that are good and some bad. But I agree, it is much better than it used to be.

I haven't been on it since October...

[NoBozo]

Here is a machine that I have seen in action on the road that goes by my house, a couple of years ago. The machine has very heavy cutting blades underneath that digs up the old asphalt as it creeps along and pulverizes it, along with the gravel and dirt foundation below the asphalt.

As it moves along it deposits the pulverised material behind it which is then graded, and then packed back down with rollers. After that, new asphalt is laid directly down over the pack..and voila..you have a new road.

This machine makes it unnecessary to transport the old asphalt material away from the site. ie: The old asphalt is Re-Cycled on the spot and used again as the foundation for the new road. :look: NB

(Click on the picture on the site to make it bigger.)

http://www.directindustry.com/prod/roadtec/road-reclaimer-54870-386748.html

[Shreddy]

Here is a machine that I have seen in action on the road that goes by my house, a couple of years ago. The machine has very heavy cutting blades underneath that digs up the old asphalt as it creeps along and pulverizes it, along with the gravel and dirt foundation below the asphalt.

As it moves along it deposits the pulverised material behind it which is then graded, and then packed back down with rollers. After that, new asphalt is laid directly down over the pack..and voila..you have a new road.

This machine makes it unnecessary to transport the old asphalt material away from the site. ie: The old asphalt is Re-Cycled on the spot and used again as the foundation for the new road. :look: NB

(Click on the picture on the site to make it bigger.)


http://www.directindustry.com/prod/roadtec/road-reclaimer-54870-386748.html

That is not what was down however on this road. You can clearly see that many of the cracks in the road are from blemishes that existed prior to the coating. I drive this road daily so it's easy to see some exact replicas of the cracking that was there before the coating.

[CrawfordCentury]

Can we add Rt 28 between Alton and Barnsted? :eek:

:laugh: Anyone who travels regularly from Alton/New Durham/Locke Lake/Wolfeboro to Concord/Manchester knows the exact location you're refering to when you say "Where the tar changes."

[Gearhead]

When they paved Rt. 28 through Wolfeboro, I said to my wife, "Quick! let's ride our bicycles on it before the big crack on the side reappears!" It was really nice, but I think it'll be back in the Spring.

Speaking of bikes, did you ever try to ride one down 28A in Alton Bay? I think they need some of those potholes and ruts transplanted from 109 to 28A.

[Pepper]

Well the sad news is today was the day when the boulder began to heave up on Rte. 11 at the bottom of Riley Road. For any who will travel from the Ames Farm area heading East - BEWARE! :eek: It will only get worse (much worse) from here on through the next two months. *sigh*

[riverat]

Looks like I will be taking 11a by Gunstock for awhile, hate that Ames Farm section of road.

[Rattlesnake Guy]

You are all breaking my heart. I was so happy when they "stimulated" route 28 last summer. It's a shame it did not last. I guess I will have to open the sun roof this spring.

[tis]

:laugh::laugh: So when you bounce up in the air, your head will go out the sun roof instead of into the (hard) roof????? I never thought of that!

[RI Swamp Yankee]

When we go 109 from Wolfeboro, usually around February, Ms Swampy accuses me of "cruel and unusual punishment". I thought this year would be different. Sounds like I a wrong again (..still).

Any chance they could "upgrade" 109 to a Class VI road? :rolleye1:

[ARV]

I was also going to post about the condition of 109 and wondered if someone would beat me to it! Both DH and I are somewhat appalled that they went through all the trouble to skim it, just to have it go back to the horrible shape it was in.

Yes, it was SO nice while it lasted!!!!:)

[Grant]

So much for the Stimulus Paving!

It really was nice in August and September. I'm sure the leaf-peeping traffic enjoyed smooth sailing. The skiers? No so much... The Bike Week traffic will be tested again.

[breathe easy]

I know this is an old thread, but I rarely drive on 109, but I did today and yes it is wavy and heaved, but driveable. I drive 171 from Moultonboro to Rt 16 at least 3 days a week and let me tell you , you practically need a lunar rover to traverse it. It is normally potholed and uneven , but now it is absolutely ridiculous. It is many times worse than 109 particularly from just past M'boro until Ossippee and horrible in Tuftonboro.

[Paugus Bay Resident]

Lily Pond Road is also an absolute treat :eek:

[Yankee]

Well, if you travel this road regularly, you know what my gripe is. Let me tip my hat to the very very intelligent person who decided a 2" skim coat over the road would heal the problems!

That road lasted less than six months...

I say let's raise the property tax and fix the roads! That will fix everything! The quicker the better that we subjegate the local ne'er-do-wells in these parts...even though we are here but 10-20 weeks a year we come with our money and such deserve to make NH in like MA, or CT, or NY!!!! WE deserve to have SMOOTH pavement, dammit! The sooner we annex the lakes region and make it Northern Massachutsetts the better!! Where does this madness stop? Obviously not at the border anymore, and it is now reaching ever farther north to where I call home.

I apologize for the rant, and I do realize that progress and thus development is an inevitable, if regretful way of life, however beotching in this or any current thread about the condition of the roads does not endear you to the local folk who live here. Even though have you have the $$ to vacation here, you would do well to tread lightly...but I digress.

Does anyone in this forum ever wonder why all but a few members are not local to the lakes region?

Thought not.

[trfour]

PBR, At least we take it slow on Lily Pond Road, so as to duck beneath the aircraft traffic flying overhead! :look: :)

[Greene's Basin Girl]

Lily Pond Road is also an absolute treat :eek: Route 25B out of Center Harbor is the frost heave road capital!

[Grant]

Based on this thread, I was expecting Baghdad-like holes & heaves along 109, but found it in pretty good shape from Moultonborough to Wolfeboro on Saturday. The worst road I drive was 175 heading toward Center Harbor. That one was in rough condition.

[livenh]

I travel Route 11 every day from Alton through Gilford. Horrible, horrible, horrible. There is one huge frost heave that is in the same spot every year and which, I am pretty sure, was the cause of a head on collision during last week's storm - minor, everyone was fine - but because of where it happened I would BET that someone hit that heave and bounced right into the other lane. Frost heaves are a way of life in New Hampshire during the winter. We have to accept them, unfortunately. But we don't have to like them!!! Only a few more weeks and they will be gone. In the meantime, slow down. People probably think I have been drinking if they follow me down this stretch of road - I know where they are and weave in and out to miss them.

[RailroadJoe]

I travel the bumpy road at a slightly lower then speed limit and end up with a line of cars behind me.. They all pass when we get to the good part south of 11A. Seems everone is in arush to get there, maybe to wait.

[RailroadJoe]

Sorry about that. I'm an old man and thought we were still on Rote 11 in Alton. My mistake.

[Shore Driver]

OT a bit, but I drove Bear Notch Rd in October and was stunned that it was completely paved over brand new, from scratch. Does anyone know if that is now a year-round road?

[SIKSUKR]

OT a bit, but I drove Bear Notch Rd in October and was stunned that it was completely paved over brand new, from scratch. Does anyone know if that is now a year-round road?

Just read about some people snowmobiling it in January.

[CrawfordCentury]

I say let's raise the property tax and fix the roads! That will fix everything! The quicker the better that we subjegate the local ne'er-do-wells in these parts...even though we are here but 10-20 weeks a year we come with our money and such deserve to make NH in like MA, or CT, or NY!!!! WE deserve to have SMOOTH pavement, dammit! The sooner we annex the lakes region and make it Northern Massachutsetts the better!! Where does this madness stop? Obviously not at the border anymore, and it is now reaching ever farther north to where I call home.

I apologize for the rant, and I do realize that progress and thus development is an inevitable, if regretful way of life, however beotching in this or any current thread about the condition of the roads does not endear you to the local folk who live here. Even though have you have the $$ to vacation here, you would do well to tread lightly...but I digress.

Does anyone in this forum ever wonder why all but a few members are not local to the lakes region?

Thought not.

I think there's a few inside oif this here discussion that are taking a kinda ironic tack - that 109 was one of the 'shovel ready' stimulus projects...and that the present state of the road is something of a metaphor for the initiative as a whole. At least that's the ongoing laugh that a few folks and I have at the present state.

Seeing as though the NH constitution mandates that revenue generated by the gas tax be used to maintain the roads - and that the road in question is one used by allotta folks that come here and gladly pay the 9% room and meals tax that helps balance the books - I think commenting on its roughness ain't beyond the pale.

Besides, it don't matter too much in that the frost heaves will be long gone by the time the summer folks return.

[natureboy79]

hi all, new to the forum and saw this thread and I was wondering what you think about it now? I actually did this paving and live on the north end of the lake and work out of Farmington so I drive it everyday. If you think its bad then drive down 171 or 109A and do a comparison. It was only a shim(which we call a big band aid)and was to be 1/2" to 1" thick. the road was so bad that there were spots that were 6" deep of new asphalt. I know it seemed like a waste but not to many jobs get 17 miles of road done and its a thousand times better than it was. Imagine what it would be like if nothing was done to it. Its going to crack and heave but the foot deep ruts should stay decent for a few years. How long can they put off 171? Its almost un-drivable.

[Lakesrider]

Agreed. It is better NOW! But it was last shimmed, when 2001 or so? So in another 9 years when it is just as bad as it was before the recent shim, and there is no stimulus money, what will it be like then? As with RT171 which is horrible already? Look what happened to the road in just one winter. Where will money come from for this roads repair? 171 is horrible now. No more stimulus money....so we all go buy Half Tracks? I will say it again, the NH Gov't believes that the New Hampshire boarder stops at the North side of Concord. When is the last time the Governor has been up here? And I don't mean to Wolfeboro... He needs to get out in someones DPW truck and drive these roads for a few days. There are many roads in the Lakes Region which need to be rebuilt. Not just shimmed.
He needs to do a lot more than worry about just roads up here too.

BTW, natureboy, if you are one of the guys who has to plow these roads....my condolences. You guys have it rough having to drive those wash board roads and watch the plows bounce like a bucking bronco all night long. :(

[natureboy79]

I dont plow and funding is the biggest problem.As gas prices rise so doesnt the cost of liquid asphalt. We dont want more taxes so the amount of money the state has to spend doesnt keep up with the price of asphalt products.So what the state use to spend to pave 30 miles of road(just a made up number) now is only is enough to pave 18 miles of road(again, made up number) Ultimately just cant keep up. As far as long stretches like 171, my guess is they will resurface these a little at a time with no stimulus money.