FORT KENT, Maine – Aroostook County Commissioners unanimously voted on Wednesday to order Grand Isle town officials to address a section of the Grivois Road deemed impassable during the spring months.
County Administrator Ryan Pelletier said that, after reviewing state laws regarding roadways, the only part of the road that meets the definition of impassable is at the very end.
The order, based on the findings of Aroostook County Community Service Director Paul Bernier, is to check asphalt millings in the problematic area of the road, and to compact the millings with a vibratory roller. The order also includes cutting the shoulders of the road to allow for road surface drainage.
The issue was first brought to the commissioner’s attention when 11 residents who either live on the Grivois Road or the adjacent Parent Road signed a petition requesting the commissioners to direct Grand Isle officials to make repairs.
In the petition, residents say the road is no longer safe for travelers during the spring months. The petition cites an incident earlier this year, on March 10, in which six inches of snow fell after a prolonged thaw. This created deep mud ruts along much of the last mile of the road, and left two families stranded at the end of the road for several days.
The petition also stated that officials refused to plow this portion of the road during that time because it was likely that the town’s vehicle would have gotten stuck or damaged. Additionally, the petition cited that the post office stopped delivering mail along the last mile of the road for similar reasons.
The commissioners brought the issue up at a June 18 meeting in Caribou, during which residents on the road attested to the treacherous conditions earlier this year.
Until recently, the section at the end of the road had not been maintained because no full-time residents lived in that area. But numerous people have since moved into that area of the road.
Grand Isle Selectman Raylan Lagasse said during the June meeting that this was only the second year that section of the road had been open. Before then, the last mile was always closed off. Lagasse added that many of the road’s worst sections are within this area.
The commissioners then held a public hearing in Grand Isle in August, during which Grand Isle resident Josiah Loverin brought residents and officials down to the last mile of the road and demonstrated its worst areas.
During this meeting Lagasse said the town’s public works employee does both summer and winter maintenance. They have a grader that needed repairs last year, as well as a loader and a dump truck. The town’s public works department consists of just one employee.
Grand Isle’s public works budget is $30,000 and it covers all 12 roads in town.
One resident, Randy Violette, said he owns property on the road and travels it nearly every day. He said his father, who has stage four COPD and other health issues, also lives on that road, and that it is crucial that officials make sure it’s passable and maintained.
Lagasse said, during the hearing, that the town received complaints about large trucks traveling on the road last winter. This can lead to issues that cause the road to become impassable. The issue, he said, is that the town does not have its own police department to restrict these vehicles from traveling on the road, and the state and county law enforcement that cover Aroostook County are often dealing with higher priority cases.
In addition to the order, the commissioners recommended that the entire road be sufficiently crowned, that all shoulders be cut for drainage, and that culverts along the road be checked for debris and blockages and cleaned if needed. Pelletier reiterated that this part is only a recommendation, not an order.
