Slow down on Route 15

In regard to the story (BDN, Dec. 15), which reported that (members of) the Department of Transportation met with Orrington selectmen pertaining to road conditions on Route 15 in the winter: As a DOT employee of five years I, myself, have plowed Route 15. It’s a very hard road to plow as the years go on, and the number of impatient drivers increases.

Railroad tracks also hamper snow removal, plow trucks must stop and raise their plows to cross. This slows them down and takes them longer to sand. Another problem is the distance the driver has to travel to get sand. If the driver was to sand the road heavy starting at the Brewer line, he will be out of sand by the time he gets to the PERC plant. So the driver has to apply sand according to traffic flow to get the most use of the sand.

Another problem is traffic speed. It does not make any difference what season it is, Route 15 has a lot of accidents.

Being a firefighter for the town of Holden, I can hear all the calls Orrington Rescue has over my pager and can honestly say that weather does make a little difference, but does not make up a big percentage of the accidents.

When doing maintenance on Route 15 we are required to put out six signs, three in one lane and three in another. The signs read in order: Work Area, One lane and Flagger. …

If people today would slow down and pay attention to the road and road condition, I think they would find life a little more enjoyable.

Why does the public always talk about the bad things we do? We also do a lot of things right. Dwight Miller Holden