DOT to repave Warren section of Route 1

WARREN – A Band-Aid approach to fixing Route 1 in Warren won’t cure the headaches that people opposed to the state’s proposed widening of the highway have had for the past year, but it will make the road safer.

Brad Foley, a state Department of Transportation design engineer, confirmed Wednesday that the state will resurface Route 1 in Warren from Route 90 north to Route 97, “because we don’t feel we can get construction going until next year.”

The paving project is expected to begin in August.

Foley was referring to the proposed widening of Route 1 in that area that eventually would extend even farther north, through Thomaston to the Rockland line.

“It’s actually a Band-Aid in reality,” Foley said.

When Steve Burke of the Route 1 Advocacy Group, which is opposed to the widening, heard of the plan, he hoped that the resurfacing would do more than stall the project. Foley indicated, however, that “plans are still on,” and the project should begin next year.

“We’re delighted with DOT’s decision to put a coat of asphalt on Route 1,” Burke said Wednesday. “It’s been in deplorable condition.

“We commend the DOT for finally coming around and recognizing that,” he said. “While we thank them for that … we will continue to dig in our heels in opposition [to the widening].”

Foley explained that Route 1 has deteriorated so badly because the base is crumbling. A 10-foot-wide slab of concrete is beneath each lane, he said, and the lanes are 12 feet wide. Therefore, the edges of the roadway have given way to a point where the road is unsafe.

Because the highway is in such bad condition, the state decided to do a temporary fix “to fill and level all that out and hold it together until next year,” Foley said.

According to DOT Division Engineer Rhonda Waterman in the Rockland office, the 3.2 miles from Route 90 to Route 97 will be a “skinny mix,” a very thin layer for maintenance purposes.

The cost of the project, which Lane Construction of Belfast will begin in two to three weeks, is about $20,000.

On Wednesday, Burke said that a petition opposing the widening of Route 1 had 800 signatures to date, and the number of supporters was steadily climbing. The document eventually will be sent to the state, he said.

Many residents who live along Route 1 have opposed the widening because they do not want to lose the countrylike landscape of the roadway and many long-standing trees, which would be removed.

Proponents argue that the $2.5 million upgrade is necessary for safety reasons.

Early on, opponents had peppered both sides of the highway with signs and tied yellow ribbons around trees that would be felled by the project. New signs have been erected, which Burke thinks have put some pressure on the state.

One sign in front of his home asks passers-by to “Make 2 calls 2 day” to Gov. Angus King and DOT Commissioner John Melrose to say to fix Route 1, but stop the widening in Warren and Thomaston, he said.

Across the road, a series of small signs tells travelers: “The DOT wants to bury us. That’s why we’re making such a fuss.”