PARIS — Selectmen unanimously agreed to redo the schedule for when roads will be repaired and adopt a more flexible plan.
“It would be a more accurate picture of where the roads stand,” Town Manager Amy Bernard said.
On Tuesday, Bernard said the town’s current 11-year road plan, which sets the date and type of repair for most roads in town, is outdated and will cost the town more money over the long run.
The decision forms a small task force of selectmen Garry Kilgore, Maine Department of Transportation engineer Phil Curtis, and a road committee member who will tour and rank the condition of roads.
Maine’s “road ranger” Curtis, who provides free local road assistance to town’s, recommending reassessing road needs every one- to two-years.
At Bernard’s recommendation, selectmen also voted to postpone repairs on Brett Hill Road in order to begin work on Ryerson Hill, which they said was in urgent need of work.
According to Bernard, engineer Phil Curtis saw problems Bernard first brought up to selectmen last year.
At it’s core, there are two fundamental problems with the current road plan, Bernard said. The first is that the data accumulated in the plan is now three to four years old, and becomes outdated with year with changing road conditions.
The current plan also allows several years to pass in between when roads receive a base paving and a top sealing coat.
“It’s wasting our resources by putting it down and not putting anything on top of it,” Bernard said.
In October, Bernard told selectmen and members of the reconvened Road Committee that the current road plan only calls for paving roads with 9mm “hot top” asphalt, the best, but also most expensive option. The new road plan may utilize less expensive asphalt alternatives, she said.
Three years ago, former Town Manager Phil Tarr and engineer Rob Prue designed the 11-year road improvement plan, that outlined road projects to be completed every year until 2022.
It was designed as a comprehensive way to address the poor condition of many of the town’s streets. It was passed by voters at town meeting in 2012.
The plan calls for the town to spend between $386,000 and $521,000 a year on road projects, and most years fall in the $450,000 to $480,000 range.
Chairman of the Board of the Selectmen Robert Kirchherr said the road plan was always likely to be subject to change.
“When we put this road plan together it was always intended to be modified. The plan was a good plan, but there’s no reason it can’t be changed if priorities need to be addressed.”
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