By Lucy L. Martin
Whitefield Roads Committee member John Parks makes a point at the group’s Oct. 16 meeting as Chris Post and Carl Ribeiro look on. (Lucy Martin photo) |
Kick the habit of quick fixes and do a long-term plan – that is the core mission of the Whitefield Roads Committee, as outlined in a draft report the panel reviewed Thursday,
Oct. 17.
Selectmen established the committee last winter to make smarter, cost-saving choices about maintaining and financing the town’s 37-mile road network, with an eye
toward greater safety and durability. (The state is responsible for the remaining 28 miles of highway.)
To help with the committee’s work, the Lincoln County Development Fund granted $2,000 to pay for the advisory services of an engineer.
Over the past nine months, committee members have used software provided by the Maine Department of Transportation to help evaluate the status of local roads and
they have driven around town to rate conditions. The committee also met with officials from other towns as well as various professionals, including from the DOT and Coffin
Engineering in Augusta.
Lessons learned include the importance of properly crowned roads, ditching and drainage, and good shoulders to shed water from pavement. Neglecting standing water on
roads, which can be caused by leftover winter sand that accumulates along the edge of the pavement, can be expensive when cracking and potholes result.
The DOT, according to the draft report, “has recommended that drainage be maintained on a regular schedule of once every three to four years.”
At the meeting Oct. 16, conversation about the cheap and easy short-term remedy of skim-coating led several members to advocate a more sensible, preventive approach.
Borings, to a depth of 2 or 3 feet into the road bed, especially where certain sections have obvious problems, would provide knowledge about the actual conditions.
“You find out what’s wrong with a road before you work on it,” said Dennis Merrill, chair of the board of selectmen. He quoted the dictum, “Roads wear from the top
down and fail from the bottom up.”
The goal is to assure a solid base, which is particularly important on roads that receive heavy loads. One 80,000-pound truck causes the equivalence in wear and tear
of 9,600 passenger vehicles, according to DOT data.
David Hayden pointed out problems with ruts and ditching on Vigue Road, which “needs full attention. That road is more than a paving job,” he said. Heavy trucks
driving over the pavement when it is soft contribute to its deterioration.
Merrill said he thought the lower end of Townhouse Road “rivals Vigue in terms of water running off the road.” Whitefield’s history of having no ditching program
prompted Merrill to say, “Our roads are just gigantic gutters.”
Over the past 10 years, the town has spent an average of $117,727 annually on roads, with the state kicking in a little over $59,000 in annual support. That amount
is expected to continue to fall.
With a lower mil rate as a result of the recent assessment, Merrill said he would like to think the situation “could benefit roads,” allowing Whitefield to have
“fewer roads needing less serious work less often.”
He said the town has to catch up with work that has been deferred, and the goal might be achievable by spending perhaps $2 million spread out over 10 years.
Louis Sell, charged with word-smithing the report, recommended coming up with “a figure for what the town needs to spend annually” to keep its roads in good shape.
One draft recommendation is that Whitefield “promptly create, adopt, and implement a plan for capital improvement and maintenance of the road net on a long-term (10
to 20 years), medium-term (five years), and annual basis” and it should set priorities.
Hayden wanted to make sure if March town meeting voters face a $168,000 proposal for improvements, that there is a strong argument for which roads get priority
and/or need immediate attention.
Chris Post suggested that all roads be traffic-counted. People might resist fixing roads that are seldom traveled, he said.
In addition to physical deficiencies in the road network, the town’s records on repairs and expenditures fall short. Co-chair John Delvecchio lamented that no one
knows what has been done, let alone spent over the years.
Several members favored having engineer Jim Coffin, who provided input at a recent meeting, help with a more in-depth survey. Merrill said he wanted a better grasp
of options: “What are (the options) for each road?”
Delvecchio, who seconded the idea of Coffin’s involvement and assistance with recommendations, said at least two more meetings would be necessary to “whittle down
what we want to present to the select board” by December.
Committee members in addition to Delvecchio, Hayden, Merrill, Post, and Sell are Co-chair Tom Colpitt, John Parks, and Carl Ribeiro.
