Conway Village's Main Street Rebuild: What the Winter Pause Leaves Behind and What Changes at Four Corners in 2027

Conway village has had cones, flaggers and torn pavement on Route 16 since spring, and the intersection by the library still works the way it always has. Most of the 2026 work went into things a driver never sees. Utility lines moved, drainage went in and temporary pavement was laid so two-way traffic could keep moving. The change that will reshape the drive, especially for anyone heading east toward Fryeburg, is a new road layout that is scheduled to be finished in 2027.

The Town of Conway's Town Engineer page is the official record. It says NHDOT issued the notice to proceed on April 3, 2026, the town awarded the contract to Alvin J. Coleman & Son, Inc. on April 7, and construction started April 20, 2026. The project runs two seasons and is to be completed by October 1, 2027.

What the first season actually moved

The town's dated updates read like a punch list for work that happens out of sight. Here is the sequence the town has published.

Before any of that, the first visible job was at the Garg Complex across from the library. As the Conway Daily Sun reported, Town Engineer Jim Badera told selectmen that Phase 1 would take up to three months and would involve tearing down the retaining wall there "so the road can be realigned." The town's plan for 2026 covers Phase 1, Phase 2 and part of Phase 4. The published record does not yet say that Phase 1 is formally complete, and the town has not described Phase 3 in its public materials.

All of this utility and drainage work had to come first. The road can't be widened or curved until the lines beside it and the pipes beneath it have been moved. A season of disruption that seems to show little for itself is actually most of the prep work.

The change that matters is the turn toward Fryeburg

The finished project is mostly about a new shape for the road. The Daily Sun's account of the Phase 2 traffic shift lists what Phase 2 builds:

• right-turn lanes at the Four Corners intersection
• a wider Route 16 heading north toward the Saco River bridge near the Irving station
• in the finished design, a curved alignment of Route 16 in front of the Town of Conway Library
• a new right-turn lane from northbound Route 16 onto eastbound Route 113

The curve is the part people will feel. Today, drivers bound for Fryeburg go straight through the intersection. Once the project is finished, the Sun reports that they "will instead take a curved lane in front of the Conway Public Library park." That puts a different movement in front of the library and its park. It is also why the Garg Complex wall came down first: the new curve needed the room.

This plan has been in the works for years. NHDOT's 2023 public hearing notice for project 40638 covered the Route 16/153 and Route 16/113 intersections. It included roadway and sidewalk reconstruction, an upgraded signal at Route 16/153 and realignment of the Route 16/113 intersection. The town says preliminary design was authorized in 2018.

Other changes come with it. Phase 4 adds a Route 16 right-turn lane at Pleasant Street, and part of that work was scheduled to run alongside the first two phases. When Selectman Ryan Shepard asked about the light timing, Badera confirmed it would be changed to improve traffic flow. Earlier Daily Sun coverage reported that the signals and controllers would be modernized and linked to NHDOT's monitoring system. It also said two northbound lanes would let more vehicles queue and get through each light, but would not eliminate peak-season traffic jams. So the new layout means more lanes for waiting traffic and smarter signals. It does not promise an empty road in July.

Getting into Conway Marketplace while the west side is torn up

The work zone runs right past the plaza many villagers use every week. The traffic plan described by the Sun puts both directions on the east side of Route 16, on temporary pavement, so crews can rebuild the west side. Two-way traffic stays in place throughout. The Conway Marketplace driveway entrances close one at a time as crews work in front of each. Which entrances are closed can change from day to day, and the contractor posts signs showing which are open.

The Sun's report did not give a calendar date for the east-side shift. Whichever entrance was closed last week may not be the one closed today, so the signs at the curb are the reliable guide.

Why Pollard and Chase streets keep coming up

The traffic control plan does not send traffic onto side streets near the project. Drivers who expect a backup tend to look for a way around it anyway, and that is what residents of Pollard and Chase streets brought to the Select Board.

At a March 24 meeting, residents asked the board to consider temporary speed humps on both streets, to be removed in winter. The Daily Sun reported a preliminary staff estimate of $10,000 for four humps on each street plus signage. At a later meeting, as the Daily Sun reported, Public Works Director Andrew Smith described a smaller plan of two humps on Pollard and two on Chase, at about $4,000 total. Badera had noted that 2026 work would not be near Pollard Street. Selectboard chair Steve Porter answered, "In the summertime with no construction, everybody is looking for a diversion intersection." The board voted 4-0 to ask Badera to draw up a speed hump layout plan for Chase and Pollard streets.

That vote asked for a plan. It was not an installation order. The public record reviewed for this post does not confirm whether the humps were built or when they would come out. With Phase 4's Pleasant Street turn lane on the list and a full 2027 season ahead, the question will likely come back before the Select Board.

What's settled and what isn't before the winter pause

The schedule is the firmest part of the record. The Sun reports that work continues through November, pauses for winter, resumes in April 2027, and is projected to finish in October 2027. As of October 12, that leaves about seven weeks of 2026 work before crews stop for the season.

Reported and documented:

• Construction began April 20, 2026, with completion set for October 1, 2027
• The project is federally funded through NHDOT as a Local Public Agency project managed by the Town of Conway
• The cost is described as $6 million in one Sun report, and the Sun's coverage of the bidding put the sole bid at $6.1 million, with NHDOT covering construction through federal LPA funds
• Two-way traffic is maintained throughout, using temporary pavement where needed

Not yet confirmed in the public record:

• The exact date both directions moved to the east side
• Whether Phase 1 at the Garg Complex is formally complete
• What Phase 3 consists of
• How the road surface and lane layout will be left over the winter shutdown
• Whether the Pollard and Chase speed humps were installed

Where the updates actually live

Badera manages the project for the town, and the town is clear that project information is posted on the Town Engineer's webpage, not on the NHDOT website. Updates are promised every two weeks and are also presented at regular Select Board meetings. Major traffic alerts go on that page and on the Town of Conway Facebook page. Questions, comments and complaints go to [email protected]. Badera told selectmen, according to the Daily Sun, that anything sent to that address "will come to me, and then I will answer questions in a timely manner."

The most recent dated entry on that page is the September 14 traffic alert. The next posted update should show what the road looks like heading into winter.

A rebuilt intersection changes everyday routes: which way you head out toward Fryeburg, how you pull into Conway Marketplace, which side streets carry extra traffic. If you're thinking about a home in or near Conway village and want to talk through how the finished Route 16 and Route 113 layout fits your daily drive, Saco Valley Real Estate is glad to go over the town's plans with you.