PORTAGE – A tractor-trailer truck went out of control on Route 11 Wednesday morning and slid off the road into a motel.

According to a Maine State Police report, a 2007 International tractor-trailer truck driven by Michael Carpenter, 38, of Weston, New Brunswick, slid off Route 11 and across the parking lot into the eight-unit section of Dean’s Motor Lodge at about 6 a.m. Wednesday.

The police report said that three New Hampshire motor vehicle enforcement troopers had been occupying an upstairs room at the motel and escaped injury when they left just 15 minutes before the accident.

“Chances are [the troopers] would have been very seriously hurt if they had been in that room,” Sgt. Julie Bergen of the Maine State Police said.

According to Bergen, Carpenter lost control while heading south on the snow-covered road. The truck was not loaded at the time of the accident.

Carpenter, who suffered minor cuts and scrapes in the accident, was charged with driving to endanger. The speed limit on that portion of Route 11 in Portage is 25 mph.

Both the building and truck were declared total losses, according to Bergen. The building was valued at $100,000 while the truck’s worth was estimated at $115,000.

The building, which is a separate structure from the motel’s main lodge and dining area, was moved four feet off the foundation by the impact.

Carolyn Rowe, co-owner of Coffin’s Store directly across Route 11 from Dean’s, said the accident had “just been waiting to happen.”

The sound of the crash woke her dog, and its barking, in turn, awoke Rowe.

Rowe said she and other Portage residents for years have been lobbying the Maine Department of Transportation for a stop sign to be placed at the intersection of Route 11 and the West Cottage Road.

The area of Portage proper where both Dean’s and Coffin’s are located is in a natural bowl formation. The road leading in and out of town is steep, and Rowe said drivers do not always pay attention to the posted speed limit.

“Trucks come through town going 60, 70 or 80 miles per hour,” Rowe said. “The [snowmobile] trail intersects across the road, and someday someone is going to be killed.”

In addition, the West Cottage Road leads to a working lumber mill and the entrance to the Maine North Woods.

“It’s always a problem area,” Rowe said. “Sooner or later, someone is going to land in our front door.”

A stop sign would force all vehicles, including the large trucks, to slow and stop, Rowe said.

“So far, the state has done nothing,” she said. “They refuse to put up a stop sign.”

Rita Sinclair, Portage town manager, said it goes beyond the need for one sign.

“There is a desperate need for traffic control on Route 11,” she said. “It’s not just the trucks; it’s vehicle traffic period.”

Despite the posted speed limit, car and truck traffic rarely slows to below 40 or 50 mph as it flows through town, Sinclair said.

“My fear has always been it will take the loss of a life to get people to slow down,” the town manager said. “We were very lucky no one was seriously hurt this time.”

On Wednesday afternoon, Rowe said she could look out the front windows of her store and easily see the damage to the motel. She was feeling badly for the owners.

“The front of the building is exposed for about 12 feet across and eight feet in,” she said. “I can see the mirrors in a room. You hate to see this happen to anyone.”

Efforts to contact anyone at Dean’s Motor Lodge or the Portage town office were unsuccessful as the accident downed power and phone lines.

Bernie’s Wrecker Service removed the damaged truck from the scene with assistance from the Portage Fire Department.

Maine State Trooper Chuck Michaud investigated the crash and was assisted by Trooper Stan Jandreau.