Dartmouth and the Town of Hanover are working together on preliminary designs for enhanced streetscape improvements along West Wheelock Street to improve the major gateway to downtown and to ensure greater pedestrian and bike safety.

As part of the collaboration with the town, Dartmouth has agreed to fund design work for the proposed upgrades, which would include improvements including a shared-use path, a bike lane and “sharrow” marks in each direction on West Wheelock Street, lighting, a street tree buffer, and the placement of utility lines underground.

Traffic lanes would also be shifted slightly to the south, but all the work would be contained to the town’s right of way. It is anticipated that two-way travel will be maintained during construction.

The proposed improvements, which are contemplated in Hanover’s Sustainability Master Plan, would require approval by the Selectboard, and by Hanover voters at Town Meeting next May.

Josh Keniston, senior vice president for operations at Dartmouth, said the improvements have long been expected to complement zoning that encouraged the creation of the pedestrian-oriented neighborhood.

“These improvements will make it safer for students, other residents, and commuters to walk or bike to the heart of campus and downtown Hanover,” Keniston said. “We are excited to be working with the Town of Hanover to help bring that vision to fruition.”

Town Meeting voters in 2022 changed Hanover zoning rules to allow more density on West Wheelock Street, which is making construction of new Dartmouth residence halls possible.

“West Wheelock Street is one of four gateways into Hanover, is part of the Appalachian Trail and a path to the Connecticut River, and the proposed design will be a dramatic improvement for all users,” said Town Manager Rob Houseman. “The zoning ordinance anticipated that both public and private investments would be used to improve safety along the corridor, and we are delighted to be working with Dartmouth in designing improvements that will serve the community for decades to come.”

In addition to this collaboration on the West Wheelock Streetscape project, Dartmouth has announced plans for four residence halls along West Wheelock Street—Russo Hall, Class of 1989 Hall, Shonda Rhimes Hall, and Alumnae Hall—and construction is well underway on Russo Hall, which is on schedule to open for the 2026-27 academic year. 

West Wheelock Street serves as the gateway to Hanover for motorists on Interstate 91, and for others crossing the Ledyard Bridge from Vermont.