Baldacci, DOT react to Routes 52, 235 outcry

LINCOLNVILLE – Gov. John Baldacci and members of his transportation staff only needed to take a bumpy ride around town to understand why everyone was up in arms over the roads.

“The roads are in terrible condition and the roads need work, there’s no question about it. You have genuine concerns,” Baldacci told the more than 100 residents who packed the Lincolnville Central School’s Walsh Commons on Thursday afternoon to learn what the governor planned to do about it.

Residents have been complaining all winter about the deteriorating condition of Routes 52 and 235, two of the three state highways that run through the town. The road surfaces are cracked and rutted, lined with potholes and bumps. Improvements that were scheduled to be done years ago were delayed until this coming summer because of budgetary problems.

People around town have taken to pasting “Sorry I’m late, I took Route 52” or “Route 52 sucks” bumper stickers on their cars to announce their feelings. While Baldacci, who was more than a half-hour late for the meeting, did not specifically blame the road for his tardiness, he left little doubt that he was taken aback by its poor condition.

Baldacci decided to see the shape of the roads first hand after residents inundated his office and that of Department of Transportation Commissioner David Cole with phone calls and e-mails. The governor acknowledged he generally doesn’t go to events such as the one organized by town officials, but he believed residents needed to air their concerns.

Besides the wear and tear on their vehicles and disruption of business activities caused by the road conditions, officials also pointed out the safety concerns.

Fire Chief Ben Hazen said the roads had slowed the department’s response time for emergencies to the point where lives and property could be endangered. Chris Knight, emergency medical technician with Camden First Aid, the town’s ambulance service, said it made more sense to take longer back roads than to try to navigate Routes 52 and 235. Critical minutes can be lost going to an emergency or transporting a patient to the hospital, Knight said.

DOT officials told residents that a $1.4 million resurfacing and restructuring plan was on the books and would get under way this spring. At the urging of town Road Commissioner Bernard Young, they also agreed to shift $250,000 from an intersection project at Moody Mountain Road and Route 235 to the main project.

When residents complained the project would not do enough and the road likely would deteriorate in a few years, they were told money was scarce all over the state and resources had to be spread to other areas. The fix should last eight years, according to the DOT. It would cost $14 million to $17 million to rebuild Route 52 to modern standards and the state could not afford to do that, residents were told.

“You know folks, the thing is we don’t have all the money we need to have,” Baldacci said. “It’s not like there is a pot of money somewhere and we can just get at it. … We have limited resources and great needs. We’re trying to stretch over greater areas and it’s challenging.”

Cole noted that his team enjoyed nothing better than building roads, but the reality was that roads are built with petroleum products and that Hurricane Katrina and growing demand for oil had increased the cost of materials by 35 percent. The state has 8,300 miles of roads, 1,500 miles of which were never built to modern standards, and 2,700 bridges to care for. He said it costs $800,000 to rebuild a mile of road.

“That squeezes you,” Cole said.

Andy Young, owner of Bald Rock Construction and one of the organizers of the protest, said the public outcry could have been avoided if the DOT had notified the town it had postponed its road repair plans. He said residents thought the DOT had dropped the project instead of putting it off until this summer.

“There was a level of frustration in the community,” Young said. “They felt like they weren’t being heard.”

Cole apologized for the miscommunication and promised to keep the town informed of its schedule in the future.

“We’re sorry for the confusion,” he said.

Some residents also remarked Thursday that Baldacci’s appearance was historic for the community as it marked the first time a sitting governor had ever visited Lincolnville on official business.