By Joseph Edgerton
Staff Writer

Although it was constructed and approved in 1990, Jilleric Road in Allenstown did not legally exist until a short time ago.

“The selectmen determined that it was a road, but there was no deed documenting a specific section of it,” Town Administrator David Jodoin said. “Something fell through the cracks.”

Jilleric Road is a “second means of egress,” according to Jodoin. It was originally constructed by Russel Hoffman, and named after his two children, Jill and Erik. When the paperwork came back from the state, the name was misspelled, but that detail has fallen by the wayside.

The dirt road was built because the region around it was prone to flooding. Hoffman and other abutters raised the money themselves and oversaw construction of the access road, which is located just off of Route 28.

Hoffman went before the Allenstown Planning Board, and the board gave him the specifications necessary for a road. After obtaining approval from the New Hampshire Department of Transportation, Hoffman presented his plan at a Town Meeting. The road proposal ended up as a warrant article on the town ballot; the voters spoke, and the road was finally approved by secret ballot.

"To the best of my knowledge, construction began around March of 1990 and was completed by May or June," Jodoin said.

All was well until builders requested permission to build on three "buildable lots." During the process, it came to the town's attention that one section of the road runs through Hoffman's property.

Planning Board Chairman Arthur Houle said, "There was an easement for that section drawn up but never filed. Back in the old days, the record-keeping was nothing like it is now; they had handwritten meeting minutes that are years old and difficult to read, and the filing system wasn't as organized."

For these reasons, among others, Houle was initially reluctant to accept the road as a town road.

"I wanted an engineering study to be performed before we accepted the road," he said. "We didn't know the 1989 specs, and I know that our specifications today have changed."

The planning board chairman also said that the road will probably stay the same.

"I think the town will leave it the way it is for now," he said. "It's in pretty good shape."

Houle also said that members of the planning board searched for records about Jilleric Road, but that many of the records were either vague or unknown.

The company that plans to develop near the road, PAL Builders, has permits for three lots, but intends to develop only on two of them. The two lots will be used for single-family homes.

"They're giving up one lot for the road," said Houle. "They will be applying for a more exact lot line adjustment at a July 6 public hearing."

Houle added that while the area is "pretty well populated," the initial purpose of the road will most likely remain the same. It will still serve as both an emergency access road and as an alternate exit for dwellers.

Houle said, "Besides the two more families living in those houses, I don't think the road will see a lot more traffic. I don't think there's going to be a large increase in use."