Maine Department of Transportation made a U-turn in its plans to wait until next year to address safety issues on Route 27. On June 5, Commissioner Bruce Van Note responded to letters from Boothbay Town Manager Dan Bryer and State Rep. Holly Stover who implored the department to act on short-term remediation and safety hazards on the much-traveled route. On May 2, Boothbay selectmen and Stover attended an Edgecomb selectmen’s meeting to hear MDOT representatives discuss plans for next year’s $10.1 million “pavement preservation” project which will grind existing pavement three to five inches deep along with shimming and resurfacing the roadway.

But local leaders wanted to know what the department had planned for 2023 regarding safety improvements. On May 2, MDOT officials only had information regarding the 2024 project, but promised to take local concerns back to the department. This resulted in Boothbay and Stover sending letters demanding action to improve road safety in 2023 and Edgecomb selectmen deciding to send their own less “growlie” letter. 

Both Stover’s and Boothbay’s letter had the same rationale. The two wanted MDOT to address the hazardous traveling conditions and know why the project was postponed until 2024. “My constituents are demanding to know why it was delayed and why DOT fails to recognize the severity of the situation,” she wrote. “Locals are right to be concerned and despite the claim the project is federally funded, the concern is the ‘State’ and that I, as their representative, have failed in providing a safe, well-maintained road passage on and off this peninsula.”

Bryer also thanked MDOT for holding the informational meeting in Edgecomb before seeking answers to unresolved questions. “The decision to not take small measures this year to complete inadequacies of this road seemed an underappreciation of the level of depredation towns on this peninsula have dealt with for years. This has grown beyond nuisance to an actual hazardous area. The board would like these temporary safety hazards addressed now, before the large number of seasonal residents arrive,” he wrote.

In his response to Bryer, Van Note reported he had recently traveled the Route 27 corridor from Edgecomb to Boothbay Harbor. This resulted in the department devising a hold-over measure until the project begins: Shim pavement treatment “as soon as possible.” Engineers have begun to mark the worst section of the road for maintenance preparation this summer. The department will use 1,500 tons of pavement covering 25,000 lane feet over the next few weeks. “The shim will look similar to what was done last year in similar deteriorating sections,” he wrote. “Although the cost is significant, we understand the value to local residents and visitors, alike. So we are doing what we reasonably can until a more lasting fix occurs next year.”

Bryer was the only one who received a letter from MDOT. On June 2, Stover received a phone call from MDOT Manager of Legislative and Constituent Services Meghan Russo. “I didn’t get a letter, but I got a phone call. And they did respond to my letter by doing the road maintenance. So I’m satisfied with the response,” Stover said.

On June 6, the Boothbay Register asked MDOT why the project was delayed from 2023 to 2024. Spokesman Paul Merrill checked with department officials and responded “the project was always scheduled for 2024.”