Sunapee seeks bids for 2026 roadway paving projects

Sunapee drivers are looking at the first clear sign of summer road work as the Highway Department opened bidding for its 2026 paving projects and set a May 13 deadline for contractors. The town said it is soliciting competitive bids, with proposal packets available through the Highway Department and submissions accepted by mail or email.

The timing matters because Sunapee roads are still under spring weight limits, posted March 10 and expected to stay restricted until about May 1. That seasonal squeeze is when winter wear is most visible, and it is also when town officials have to decide where limited paving dollars go first. The Highway Department says its mission reaches beyond pavement, covering highways, sidewalks, stormwater systems, bridges, dams, intersection signalization and other town infrastructure.

The 2026 notice does not name the roads yet, but last year’s paving list offers the clearest clue to the kind of streets that have been in the town’s crosshairs. Sunapee’s 2025 work covered Jobs Creek Road, Fairway Drive, Gardner Bay Road, Granliden Road and Skijor Steppe, a shim-and-overlay project that was awarded to Blacktop, Inc. for $653,453. That job ran from June 1 through Sept. 30, 2025, giving contractors and residents a clear picture of how long summer construction can linger once the work starts.

The town used a competitive process then, too. A 2024 technical evaluation memo said Sunapee received four bids, one was removed as incomplete and a six-member committee unanimously recommended Blacktop as the contractor within the town’s budgetary constraints. The same kind of vetting now applies to the 2026 round, which means the eventual price tag and the roads affected will be set by the bids rather than by guesswork.

The new paving solicitation also lands after voters rejected funding for a new highway garage at the March 11 town meeting, underscoring how closely residents are watching highway spending. Even so, road maintenance remains unavoidable, especially for school buses, commuters, local businesses and emergency vehicles that depend on smoother pavement once mud season gives way to summer traffic. Sunapee also has state work in the mix: at a June 16, 2025 Selectboard meeting, Town Manager Shannon Martinez said the New Hampshire Department of Transportation planned to resurface 1.9 miles of state road in town, from a pavement joint at Depot Road easterly to a pavement joint at Bradford Road.