Railroad crossing at Hampden to be rebuilt soon

HAMPDEN – Relief is in sight.

Officials say they hope to rebuild the railroad crossing on Route 9 within a month. Numerous residents have expressed concerns about the crossing, stating that potholes left by a train and tractor-trailer accident last month are a hazard to motorists and their vehicles.

“There is a safety issue out there and we recognize that; we want to get this done,” Andy MacDonald, project manager of the multimodal program at the state Department of Transportation, said Thursday.

No cost estimate for the project has been completed to date.

A Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway train left the tracks on April 11 when it collided with a tractor-trailer truck, leaving the roadway in dire need of repair.

Before the accident, the railroad crossing was high on the list of sites that needed to be rebuilt. It was placed on the emergency list after the derailment.

“Within the next 30 days, we do expect a rebuild on that crossing,” Norma Griffiths, MMA manager of claims, documentation and reporting, said Thursday. “The fact that we got this done in such a short period of time is nothing short of amazing.”

The railroad will be the general contractor for the construction, and MacDonald pointed out that Vaughn Thibodeau & Sons will handle the groundwork.

Vaughn Thibodeau & Sons is contracted to do construction on Route 69 in Winterport on a similar project. As a result, the Maine DOT was granted permission by the Federal Highway Association to use the same company for the Hampden project and avoid the minimum three-week advertising period, which would have further prolonged the construction.

The next step for the project involves Vaughn Thibodeau & Sons and MMA submitting an estimated cost and list of materials to the DOT, according to MacDonald.

Ninety percent of the project funds will come from federal money, 5 percent from MAA and 5 percent from the state.

Griffiths said her company wants to resolve the situation as soon as possible. The new design of the crossing will include a new motion system and an upgrade in lights, which are larger and brighter. No pre-warn light system is included in the new design package.

“We apologize to the residents for the inconvenience, but it isn’t something we created, and we’re trying to deal with the cards we were dealt,” Griffiths said.

In the interim, however, Griffiths said MMA is not planning any temporary solution to the potholes. She said the company felt the road was safe.

If any temporary work is done to the road before the permanent remake of the crossing, it may have to come from the DOT.

“Measures will be taken to address the topic and make it safe for the traveling public,” MacDonald said Thursday.