Crooker Construction LLC, of Topsham, will complete the first phase of Westport Island’s long-term paving plan for $347,516.
The Westport Island Board of Selectmen accepted the bid, the lower of two bids, Monday, Oct. 7. Crooker Construction will pave parts of Doggett, Haskell, Lord, and North End roads.
Pike Industries Inc. submitted the other bid, which was substantially higher.
Bob Mosley, a paving manager with Crooker Construction, told the selectmen the top layer of pavement on Doggett and Haskell roads is peeling and will not make a good base for new pavement.
He suggested two options to correct the problem: either milling or reclaiming the road.
To reclaim the road means to pulverize the asphalt and mix it with the underlying base to stabilize the base of the road for new pavement. To mill the road means to remove part of the surface to level and smooth the surface for new pavement.
The difference in price was only a few hundred dollars, and the selectmen opted for the more expensive reclaiming process.
The selectmen asked Westport Island Roads Committee Chair James Cromwell what he would recommend. Cromwell recommended the reclaiming.
Mosley said, “It is certainly up to you what you want to do. But I just don’t think you want to spend thousands of dollars on these roads knowing it will not last.”
After a brief discussion, the selectmen voted 3-0 to accept the bid, including the reclaiming of Doggett and Haskell Roads, at the total cost of $347,516.
At the annual town meeting in June, voters approved a total of $465,000 for preparatory work and paving on the four roads: $115,000 for prep work and $350,000 for paving.
S.R. Griffin Construction Inc., of Edgecomb, won the contract for the prep work for $99,400, bringing the total for both contracts to $446,916, well within the budget.
The project represents the first phase of a five-year plan to pave town roads.
Willis Point Road
For the past few weeks, the selectmen have been considering a request from Willis Point Road property owners Meg and John Wilson to plow an additional half-mile of the road, to their driveway. The section of road is not in the town’s snowplowing contract.
The selectmen considered a special town meeting to add the cost of the extra plowing to the contract. They consulted the Maine Municipal Association on how to deal with the request.
First Selectman George Richardson Jr. has since spoken to snowplowing contractor Garry Cromwell and Cromwell has agreed to plow the extra half-mile of Willis Point Road this year at no extra cost to the town.
Cromwell has agreed to plow the road after storms, not during storms, according to Richardson. Cromwell is in the final year of a three-year plowing contract with the town.
The selectmen will make the necessary adjustments for Willis Point Road in the next contract.
Next meeting
The selectmen will hold their next meeting Monday, Oct. 21 at 7 p.m. They will not meet on the holiday, Monday, Oct. 14.
