PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — Around the region, construction companies and municipal departments are at work paving and refurbishing roads.
In Presque Isle this summer, the city will spend about $70,000 on chip sealing and $325,000 on road paving, said Presque Isle Public Services Director Dana Fowler.
“That’s pretty typical,” Fowler said Monday. “We do about four miles plus or minus of paving a year and four miles of chip sealing.
Contracts for both the chip sealing and paving work went out to bid and were awarded to Soderberg Construction, Fowler said.
The chip sealing is finished for the season and was completed on Chandler Road, Dennett Hill Road and the end areas of Williams Road, Fowler said.
Chip sealing involves the application of liquid asphalt and crushed gravel to fill in and seal cracks and misshapen sections of road.
This summer’s paving is being done now and includes sections of Mechanic Street, University Street, Burlock Road, and Maple Grove Road, Fowler said.
The city’s schedule for chip sealing and paving includes an average 7 year rotation for chip sealing and an average 12 year rotation for paving, Fowler said.
He said the department aims to work on about the same amount of paving and chip sealing each year, based on the conditions of the roads, to avoid fluctuations in the budget.
“We’re trying to do the same amount of work each year so there’s no big rise in the budget or no decrease.”
