ATKINSON – Residents will be asked next Monday at the annual town meeting to approve the selectmen’s order to discontinue the McCorrison Road but allow for an easement for public use.

The town meeting will start at 7 p.m. Monday, March 20, in the town hall.

A bridge on the McCorrison Road that connects Maple Road to Orneville needs costly repairs, according to Selectman Dave Kinney.

To keep municipal costs down and to relieve the town of any liability on the road, selectmen voted to discontinue the road. Kinney said the move will still allow the public a right-of-way but people would use the road at their own risk.

Kinney said that the road is not a major thoroughfare, there are no buildings on it, and the abutting land is owned by large landowners. The road actually has been closed to winter maintenance for about 30 years, he said.

The total town budget for municipal expenditures, school and county costs is $482,000, of which about $265,000 will be funded through property taxes, according to Kinney.