“I’d like to thank the patience of the residents, business owners and travelling public,” he said.
MaineDOT accepted a bid from Soderberg Construction earlier this summer to handle the two-year $4.6 million project. Residents and travelers can expect major upgrades in drainage and all new subbase, “this road was never built to any degree now we’re correcting that,” Sullivan said.
He noted that the contractors in the surrounding area are very good to work with and Soderberg’s management is exceptional and cooperative.
Residents who live on the Fort Road and have had to give up small portions of their property in preparation of the project “were very happy to accommodate for the new road and impacts were minimal,” Sullivan added.
The project will have to shut down early into the winter, but Sullivan says they expect to have all of the excavating finished, the new drainage taken care of and the first layer of pavement laid. Next year they’ll be back for the final amount of pavement, clean up and seeding.
President of Soderberg Construction, Carl Soderberg, believes his team is doing a great job and is working hard especially when it comes to putting up with all the wet weather the region has had this summer.
“The project has gone very well and the traveling public has been great,” he said. “Thank you to the public for being patient and safe while the road is under construction.”
Roads surrounded by farmland face challenges such as erosion and the Fort Road is prone to flash weather, according to Brent Bubar, MaineDOT engineer. “One of the biggest challenges is putting in drainage that is going to slow down the water and stop the erosion along the stream,” he said. “The project life for this kind of a project starts out in the 20-year range.”
Last Wednesday Soderberg Construction held their annual barbecue at the construction office site on the Fort Road. This annual luncheon has become a tradition during their summer projects to thank the contractor’s employees for all of their hard work.
