08/20/2026
HENRY BRIDGE IS NOW OPEN!!
From Director Adam Jacobs' comments at the ribbon cutting ceremony this afternoon:
"I’d like to take a few moments to recognize everyone that played a role on this unique project:
Town Residents – Both for your patience the last 8 weeks, and for the overwhelming support you have shown toward the need to maintain our critical infrastructure. Also for the additional road funds passed at Town Meeting, which allowed this project and others to happen this year despite being in a default budget. You all own this bridge, and I hope you share our pride about getting this done. And for the direct abutters to the project, I’m sorry that your sleepy little dead-end street is about to get busy again.
Mark Zuckerberg and the good people at Facebook - Even though it pains me to say it, thanks for providing us a platform to share the project updates and receive feedback from the public. If you haven’t checked out our photo albums I encourage you to do so for many project pictures.
Goffstown Select Board (current and past) – for support with the project, and confidence in the department to continue to get the job done.
2022 NH Legislature and Governor for SB 401 additional Bridge Funding to municipalities, we tapped into these funds for the decking materials, the largest project expense.
Town Departments and Department Heads
-Admin/Town Hall – budget season/default coordination, project purchasing, AP, and accounting, public outreach, GTV coverage
-Our fellow first responders at Goffstown Police Department and Goffstown Fire Department – dealing with impacts of the detour, safety preparations, plus a few job site security issues along the way
-Goffstown Parks and Recreation – Providing custom job site security gates, and thanks for not asking for help with too many odd jobs this summer
-Goffstown Public Library – Our Town public outreach hub, and including a picture of the project in their 50 yr time capsule (shameless plug - 1pm ceremony at the library tomorrow 8/21)
Contractors and others who were critical getting the job both planned and finished on time
o Hastings Welding And Fabrication
o Continental Paving
o On Point Concrete Foundations
o Moore Concrete Cutting
o US Bridges
o VHB Engineers
o Nicom
o Evroks
o NHDOT Bridge Maintenance Section - Gary Kitson
o White Cap Construction
o Chris Hock at the BBCS group
o ATS Equipment Rentals
o Middlesex Gases and Hypertherm
o New England Barricade
o Drop One Portables
o Seacoast Scaffolding
o Cintas Uniforms for dealing with our dirty laundry
Finally – our dedicated staff at DPW, every division played a role
-Highway crews – learning more than they ever wanted to know about fall protection, working over water, metal work, corrosion prevention, and expansion joints. You safely powered through some pretty grueling work in extreme temperatures and somehow kept smiles on your faces. My hat is off to you, you make us all look good.
-Admin/Engineering – Preconstruction materials and supplies, planning, detours, budgeting, billing, and inspections
-Fleet Maintenance – equipment uptime, tools, demo assistance
-Solid Waste – Demolition debris removal and handling of the old decking (plus deftly handling people who may or may not have been cranky about a longer route to the Transfer Station, including DPW staff)
-Cemetery – Site preps and clearing, and picking up some of the slack around town while half of the Highway Division kept the press on the bridge and the other half worked on our Road Plan projects.
It's been said that a bridge is its own metaphor. Bridges bring together our community, in both a literal and a figurative sense. A project like this, on one of the two most critical bridges of the 18 that we maintain, certainly embodies that.
I’m proud of everyone involved, but I’m also leaving good notes and lots of pictures because I certainly hope none of us here have to do this particular job, on this particular bridge, again in our careers." :)
THANKS AGAIN TO ALL!
