As mud seasons go, Woolwich’s veteran road commissioner Jack Shaw said this year’s is about average. Spring arrived March 20 and the recent warmer days have Shaw keeping a close eye on the town’s remaining eight miles of dirt roads.

The worst has been Chopps Point Road off Route 128. The annual thaw softened large sections, making travel a slippery mess. “One problem is it gets a lot more traffic than it used to,” Shaw said this week. “We laid down a good deal of gravel, about 400 cubic yards’ worth and ran the grader over it. I can tell it’s a lot better now, but people have still got to take it easy driving over it until things really start to dry out.”

The drying out part depends on the weather over the next few weeks. “Well, you never really know this time of year. We could get rain, or even snow – sometimes lots of it,” Shaw added. Along with Chopps Point Road, Shaw’s crew has been raking and grading the town’s other unpaved roads.

“We keep an eye on all of them and people let us know the ones that need our attention.”

For now, Shaw has many of the roads posted to prohibit heavy loads. “We generally lift the load limits in mid-April about the same time as the town of Wiscasset lifts theirs.”

Shaw said dirt and gravel roads lose about an inch of their surface every year to wind and erosion. Some of the road surface is also lost during snow plowing. “All of these factors contribute to the road surface softening over time; the softer part underneath mixes with what’s left of the harder surface material and contaminates it. After the frost comes out it turns to muck that gets worse when it rains. Other than paving, the only thing we can do is add gravel in the worst spots and grade the surface.”

At this year’s annual town meeting, the select board is planning a warrant article seeking $40,000 for dirt and gravel road maintenance.

Reached for comment, Selectman Allison Hepler agreed unpaved roads were a challenge. “We're fortunate to have a very responsive and professional road commissioner who cares a lot about the community,” she said.

Shaw said this time of year residents who live on an unpaved road are always glad to see the grader. It, too, has become a sign of spring.