By Dawn De Busk
Staff Writer
CASCO — Casco’s public officials are concerned about the shoulders that drop off from some sections of the new pavement along Route 11.
On Tuesday, Town Manager Dave Morton updated the Casco Board of Selectmen, saying the road repair on Route 11 had not been completed.
“Route 11 work was held up. Paving is not complete. Some parts may be held over until next year,” he said.
The Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT) project encompasses 10 miles of Route 11, from Route 302 in Naples to the traffic lights at White Oak Hill Road in Poland. The majority of the almost $3 million pavement reclamation project took place in Casco.
“I understood from discussions with MDOT officials that some areas did not pass density requirements and will need to be ground up and repaved,” Morton said.
“MDOT is trying to determine what will be completed this year and what happens in the spring,” Morton said.
“The whole process is evolving daily and very much dependent on weather and temperatures,” he said.
Chairman Grant Plummer said that he was surprised to discover that the shoulder work wasn’t part of the scope of the project, which was awarded to White Brothers Division of Lane Construction.
He said that MDOT was responsible for the shoulder work being completed, not White Brothers.
There are “1,500 feet that the state said has to be addressed,” he said.
Plummer said he has driven along the 10 miles where road repair occurred, and he thinks more than 1,500 feet of shoulder needs to be improved.
It is a safety issue for drivers, especially with winter on the horizon.
“Let us hold the line here. Once snow happens and snow banks pushed back” the shoulders will be even worse or more deceiving, he said.
Selectman Holly Hancock said the Casco Fire and Rescue Department personnel have also talked about the dangerous shoulders.
Emergency vehicle drivers have been told to “keep the trucks on the road. If we pull over, we are going to lose them” in the ditch, she said.
Hancock had a second concern — the degradation of a newly-paved road.
“Without shoulders being built up, we are going to lose that road,” she said.
According to MDOT Resident Engineer Tim Storer, the state-mandated cutoff date for paving major roads is Oct. 18.
After that date, driveways and shoulders can be paved. However, the problem is that paving is temperature sensitive. It cannot be done during times when temperatures are lower than 50 degrees, Storer said.
The situation on Route 11 seems to be a Catch-22.
“We have gained a new road, but we have lost a lot of workable areas,” Plummer said.
“We need to stand our ground,” he said.