PLAISTOW - A letter from the Department of Transportation (DOT) inquiring about the town’s stance on detaching Walton Road from Route 125 prompted selectmen to reaffirm their original ruling that the road should remain connected.

Residents of Walton Road and Shady Lane claim motorists speed down the connecting road (located off the entrance of Sawyer’s Function Hall) to bypass the intersection of Route 125 and Route 121A or to get to the Timberlane schools on Greenough Road.

At a public hearing for the Route 125 reconstruction project in November, the DOT was presented with a petition signed by 59 residents of the two roads that stated they want the connecting road blocked off.

The letter sent to the selectmen requested the town’s official position, which the selectmen said is the same as it was in June: the police chief and fire chief are against the closure because of public safety concerns and so are they.

"I don’t think there’s any further explanation," said Selectman Chairman Merilyn Senter, adding that the town’s highway department is also against the closure.

Both Police Chief Stephen Savage and Fire Chief John McArdle have indicated two access points to the road may be needed in the case of an emergency.

A police radar trailer and directed police patrol showed there were no significant problems on the road.

In the DOT letter, Christopher Waszczuk, the DOT project manager for Route 125 reconstruction, stated DOT "will be reviewing the design and layout of Walton Road and developing a resolution to the concerns presented." The department also requested summaries of past meetings about the subject.

A Route 125 Advisory Task Force meeting will be scheduled to discuss all the issues brought up at the DOT public hearing, including Walton Road, sometime after the holiday season, the letter states.