Select Board accepts highway block grant and clears road work for Crowley Road and Old Manchester culvert

The Candia Select Board voted Sept. 8 to accept a state highway block grant and authorized the town road agent to use those funds—together with impact fees and off-site improvement money—on reconstruction work on Crowley Road and on replacing a failing culvert on Old Manchester Road.

Road agent Jeff (speaker 6) told the board that North Road reconstruction and paving are complete and that the next major project is a short but badly damaged section of Crowley Road, which he plans to excavate from Route 68 through a swamp, raise about a foot and install drainage. "We're gonna start right around I think it's, like, 68 and go through the swamp because that's honestly probably the worst part of that road," Jeff said, adding the crew may install underdrain depending on conditions when they begin work.

Jeff also described a failing culvert on Old Manchester Road where drainage from a nearby golf course causes water to wash out the shoulder in heavy rains. He warned the board that if concrete existed under the road they may have to "hammer through the concrete," and that the town will need to close a short stretch of the road and notify the bus company to detour to South Road during construction.

The chair announced a grant amount during discussion (announced as $37,354.03) and member 4 moved the board "accept the highway block grant"; the motion language as spoken by member 4 referenced a slightly different figure ($37,304.03). The board voted to accept the block grant and to permit the road agent to spend the funds on the identified projects; members asked that invoices be submitted to the trustee to document expenditures. The board also approved a separate motion to replace the Old Manchester culvert using highway-fund/trust money.

Why it matters: accepting the grant unlocks state funds the town must formally accept before the road agent can obligate spending. The work targets two recurring trouble spots—Crowley Road's swamp section and a culvert that threatens to wash out roadway—both of which have safety and maintenance implications for residents and school routes.

What’s next: Jeff said tree cutting and limbing would begin later in the week and excavation would begin soon after; the town will notify the bus company ahead of any necessary detour. The board asked that the road agent submit invoices after work so the trustee can authorize payment.

(Reporting note: the grant amount was announced twice during discussion with two close but different figures reported on the record; the board accepted the grant on a motion so Jeff could proceed with the projects.)