Construction resumes on Claremont’s North and Main project, traffic delays expected
Work has resumed at North and Main, and Claremont drivers face lane closures, alternating traffic and another season of delays at the NH 12 corridor.
Lane closures and one-way alternating traffic returned to one of Claremont’s busiest corridors as B.U.R Construction resumed work on the North & Main project at NH Route 12 and North Street. The city said the 2026 construction season picked up with waterline extension work, trench paving and milling a section of NH 12 ahead of surface paving the following week.
For drivers, the immediate answer is more inconvenience. The city warned that daytime traffic impacts would continue while crews are active, and that the corridor should not be treated like a normal through route. Pedestrians and nearby businesses around North Street, Grandview Street and downtown Claremont should expect changing access patterns as traffic shifts around the work zone.
The project has been under construction since Tuesday, April 9, 2024, and the latest update shows it is still moving through a multi-season rebuild rather than a short-term paving job. The roadway approaches being reconstructed, realigned and widened total about 5,200 feet. That stretch includes the stop-controlled intersection where North Street meets NH Route 12, and the city has tied the work to a broader effort to change how the intersection functions, improve traffic flow and make the corridor safer and more durable.
The scope reaches well beyond new pavement. The federally funded project includes utility adjustments, a new water line, drainage improvements, replacement of the Stevens Brook culvert under NH 12, soldier pile retaining wall construction and stormwater management measures. In practical terms, the city is using the project to address water service, roadside stability, runoff and long-term road performance at the same time.
An April 2026 update had already shown how the work was reshaping access, with North Street closed to pave the upper leg of the intersection between North Street, NH Route 12 and Grandview Street. On April 21, the city also listed binder paving and guardrail installation on Route 12, along with surface paving and curb installation on Route 12 and North Street. Taken together, the latest stage of work suggests more visible progress this season, but also more disruptions before the corridor settles into its final design.
The project sits alongside other federal transportation money flowing into Claremont. On June 27, 2024, the New Hampshire congressional delegation announced $1.5 million for the city’s CARDS initiative, part of a $2.9 million package that also supported sidewalks, bicycle lanes and drainage systems on Charlestown Road and New Hampshire Route 11.
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