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| Photo courtesy Shawn Cote Maine Department of Transportation representatives and local residents discussed a potential highway improvement project on Route 161 during a June 20 public hearing in Caribou. Above, pavement damage along the roadside of Route 161 north, on a hill overlooking the Caribou skyline. |
By Shawn Cote
Special to the Aroostook Republican
Preliminary plans by the Maine Department of Transportation to repair an approximately four-mile section of Route 161 between Caribou and Fort Fairfield were addressed in a public meeting at the Caribou City Office on June 20.
According to MDOT project manager Jon Bither, the meeting was attended by 25-30 residents, many of whom took the opportunity to draw attention to particular problem areas along Route 161, where flooding, erosion and frost heaves have caused significant damage. Bither said the purpose of the meeting was to gather input from property owners and commuters whose concerns and suggestions might aid in the development of a design for the potential project.
“We were pleased to see the turnout that we had of the local property owners,” Bither said. “It was a good meeting and the people seemed receptive.”
Issues raised by those in attendance included the need for reconstruction of culverts considered too small, lack of paved shoulders on the roadside, and the need for construction of guard rails in specified areas. Proposed horizontal and vertical alignments of the roadway were also discussed, said Bither.
While noting that the project is still in the early stages of development and budgetary constraints remain a concern, Limestone resident Kent Ward indicated that the public meeting was productive. “A lot of good questions got asked and subsequently answered,” Ward said.
Bither stated that although preliminary engineering funding for the project is currently available, construction funding is not. “Our goal is to complete the Preliminary Engineering and Right of Way work as part of this contract, and when that Preliminary Engineering work is complete the project is then considered for construction funding,” he said, adding that a date for construction has not been set. He does expect preliminary engineering for the project to be finished by next spring, at which point the MDOT will determine whether or not the project will receive funding.
“With larger earth projects, that is how MaineDOT is now working,” Bither said. “This allows the funding we have available for projects to be spent on projects that are ready to be built and ensures that funding is not assigned to projects that may have some type of issues that keep them from being constructed.”
Caribou City Manager Steve Buck attended the meeting but was unavailable for comment.
