Special meeting scheduled Thursday to discuss Broad Street Parkway “bridge aesthetics” in Nashua

NASHUA – The Broad Street Parkway, and what the new road’s bridges will look like, will be the subject of a joint meeting between aldermen and the Board of Public Works on Thursday. “It’s just a joint meeting,” Mayor Donnalee Lozeau, who chairs the Board of Public Works, said Wednesday. “I’m hoping to have a discussion about options around the three bridges for the Broad Street Parkway, get their feedback and their input, figure out whether they want to see any changes or if they think it’s a good idea or a bad idea, or are willing to spend money or not spend money so that the Board of Public Works can get a decision made at their January meeting.” The public meeting will take place in the City Hall auditorium starting at 7 p.m. Between the Tree Streets and Broad Street, the city will construct three bridges as part of the parkway. Bridges over Fairmount and Baldwin streets will cost a combined $7 million, while the Nashua River bridge itself will cost between $8 million and $9 million, project manager John Vancor has said. The parkway will cross the river via a new bridge near the Millyard, which planners hope will spur redevelopment and revitalization in the former textile mill. A presentation for the meeting is available on the city website, and highlights “typical roadway bridges” such as the Exit 2 bridge over the Daniel Webster Highway and “opportunities for enhancements.” It will include a discussion about metal or concrete bridge rail options, ornamental lighting options, straight versus haunched girders and concrete surface treatments, among other issues. The roadway began taking shape in 2012 with the reconfiguring of some streets near the Walnut Street oval and the Tree Streets to improve the parkway’s southern terminus and make way for the new two-lane, limited access road. Officials expect vehicles to be able to travel the length of the roughly 2-mile road, from West Hollis and Kinsley streets to Broad Street near Exit 6 of the F.E. Everett Turnpike, by December 2014. The road will be built for about $64.5 million with a mix of city and federal dollars.