From the desk of Jeffrey Nute, Landaff Road Agent:

Hello everyone!

It’s been a while since I’ve posted, so I figured it was time to take a couple minutes to catch you up on what’s going on at the highway department…

If you haven’t heard, Darren (Hubbard) left us to join his hometown (Lyman) highway department about a month ago.  We attempted to replace him by advertising the position in all of the local newspapers, but to no avail.  There wasn’t a single hit!  Fortunately, Travis Smith came forward and offered his help on his off days at the Tri Town Transfer Station.  I have known Travis since he was a kid, and I have worked with him in the past.  We jumped at his offer and he started on Monday!  He will be helping on Mondays, Tuesdays and occasionally Wednesday mornings.  Allan (Boulet) is still helping when I need that extra set of hands and days that Travis isn’t available.  If you bump into either of these guys, please thank them for their generous assistance!

Landaff clean-up day this past Saturday was a huge success!  Spearheaded by Drew Youngs, the Conservation Commission chair, the highway dump truck was filled with “blue bags” and a few other nasty roadside finds!  If you have any bags that didn’t make it to the truck, they can be tossed in the compactor at the transfer station at no charge.  Otherwise, they can be dropped off at the highway garage anytime.  We’ll take it from there.  Also, if you are going to work on roadside cleanup on your own in the future, we now have bags available 24/7 inside the after- hours drop box at the garage next to the overhead door.  Please take only what you think you will fill.  There are still bags at the Town Hall during open hours also.

Winter is finally behind us, and what a tough one it was!  I’m so happy to have the nicer weather so that we can get going on spring work.  Speaking of, the sweeping is nearly complete and gravel road grading is now at the top of the list.  The weather hasn’t completely cooperated, as the rain keeps putting it off, but we’ll keep at it when we can.  We will be doing some mowing to prep for ditch work and culvert changes when the ground dries a bit, also.  We will continue cleaning ditches on the gravel roads with the grader.  The plan is to rent an excavator in July and August to really get after ditching on Mill Brook and Pearl Lake Roads and a few other heavy spots around town.  We will be paving the areas on Gale Chandler Road that washed out back in 2024, and putting some shim pavement in the meanest spots on Mill Brook and Pearl Lake Roads.  We will be adding gravel to some thin areas around town, as well.

Thanks for your support of our “new” roller this year.  We have serviced it and given it a pretty thorough going over and we have actually used it a few times already to great success.  I’m quite confident that it will serve us well for a long time.  It’s really nice to hammer the gravel after grading.  It will make the roads hold together a lot better and longer.  The cost of calcium chloride brine is absolutely ridiculous, so we will be a little more conservative with the application than usual this summer, but if you have a very dusty section of road that you feel needs it, please reach out, and we’ll dose it.

Financially, this is a very trying time for everyone, and the highway department is no exception.  Parts, equipment supplies, and road materials are astronomical.  I am trying very hard to get the most out of your hard earned tax dollars to get things done, but there will have to be concessions from time to time until things calm down.  Please bear with me.  If you have ANY concerns or questions about what we do, PLEASE reach out.  It’s important to me that you have confidence in what’s going on here!

Thank you!  AND have a great summer!

Jeff 

Road Agent
Town of Landaff Highway Dept.
1897 Mill Brook Road
Landaff, NH  03585
603-838-5221
landaffroadagent@gmail.com