About 45 Bedford residents showed up at a meeting aimed at gauging public sentiment on putting up money for road improvements to the intersection of Route 101 and Nashua Road.

Voters already overturned a request to use $3 million in town money for improvements in March.

On Tuesday, June 24, town officials hosted a public forum so residents could offer their input on how to make the intersection safer, especially for high school students who are expected to drive to and from school.

Town Manager Russ Marcoux said he has been working with a small group since April 29, including three New Hampshire Department of Transportation engineers, Town Council Chairman Michael Izbicki and Public Works Director Jim Stanford to come up with a solution that is relatively affordable to Bedford residents.

Marcoux said the improvements to Route 101 have been on the state’s 10-year plan for about 30 years, and could remain there indefinitely if Bedford does not go forward on its own.

“We can do nothing, that’s an alternative,” said Marcoux. “If we do nothing, there is a good possibility that we will see no improvements on 101 for 10, 12 years.”

Michael Dugas, the DOT’s chief of Preliminary Design and Bill Cass, chief of engineering, presented several alternatives at the June 24 meeting and some possible funding sources, including applying for the State Aid Highway Program and the federal Highway Safety Improvement Program.

The options were estimated to start at $1.5 million. The first entails putting a traffic signal at Nashua Road and Route 101, adding a left-turn lane and another eastbound lane running from Wallace Road past Nashua Road on Route 101 and restricting turns at Bell Hill Road.

The second option is similar, but would extend the added eastbound lane up to Meetinghouse Road. The third option would add a westbound lane and extend both new lanes up to Constitution Drive.

Several residents at the June 24 meeting in Bedford High School theater, including Gus Garceau, suggested scaling down the improvements.

“We have to look at a way that costs very little money and wait for the state to decide,” Garceau said.

Others, including Christopher Dainiak, suggested calling on surrounding towns whose residents use Route 101 to help pay for the project.

“This is the most populated area of the state. It’s basically a bedroom community of Boston. It’s not just been Bedford, it’s been the entire region,” Dainiak said.

Others pointed out that Route 101 is a state road, and the only money Bedford should put out would be for changes to Nashua Road.

“It’s my humble opinion that it should be the state’s responsibility to maintain and improve state roads,” said resident John Bostwick.

Joleen Worden said the town should put the money up to remedy safety issues, arguing that the state would reimburse the town for two-thirds of the project under the state highway program, or about a million for a $1.5 million project.

She argued the remaining $500,000 would be considered as funding the Nashua Road improvements only.

“The real question in our minds should be do we want to loan the state a million dollars and then spend half a million on Nashua Road,” she said. “I think the answer is obviously, if we don’t do it, we’re crazy.”

Marcoux said the study group would look at the suggestions made, come to the Town Council with the most viable and would likely present a warrant article in March 2009.