State Announces Samoset Street Construction Project

Samoset Street, the old Route 44, will be widened, receive new sidewalks and a bicycle lane under a plan by the state Department of Transportation to repair and repave the road.

The public will have a chance to weigh in on the design at a public hearing today, April 11, at the Main Branch Library. The hearing will begin at 7 p.m. and preliminary design plans should be available at that time.

The public is also invited to comment on the reconstruction through a form available at Town Hall.

According to the press release for the hearing, the construction will require some land takings along either side of Samoset Street. Any eminent domain takings and purchases will have to be done by the town, according to the release; a standard agreement which was done in Kingston when Route 27 was widened last year.

The construction will include the old Route 44 (which is still commissioned as a highway) from the northbound Route 3 interchange to Court Street. It will also include North and South Park streets from Court Street to Water Street.

The reconstruction will provide sidewalks that are compliant with the American with Disability Act (5-feet, 6 inches wide), 4-foot shoulders on either side that will double as bicycle lanes, and 11-foot travel lanes for a total of a 41-foot right-of-way. Samoset Street averages 30 feet wide, not including sidewalks and shoulders.