WINTHROP — Motorists should plan to detour around the Route 133/lower Main Street railroad crossing next week.
In exchange for those pains, they’ll be spared any future shake, rattle and roll caused by the broken pavement in the pot-holed intersection.
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While the area is closed, workers from the Maine Department of Transportation and Pan Am Railways will fix the crossing Tuesday and Wednesday.
“Right now, the railroad crossing is very, very hard on vehicles because of its condition,” Town Manager Jeff Woolston said. “The railroad and the Maine DOT will resolve that condition and make it so, when you cross the crossing, your car is not adversely affected.
“By the 27th of October, when you drive across it, it will be a pleasurable experience.”
Ted Talbot, public information officer for the Maine Department of Transportation, said the department is providing $2,000 to $5,000 out of its maintenance budget for the project, which includes paving materials and crew time.
He said there will be signs to note the detours.
Woolston said detours will require motorists to travel only a couple of blocks to get around the intersection. “They’re only closing that entrance to Main Street,” Woolston said.
Motorists can detour to Union Street if they’re heading to or from Readfield or Wayne or along Highland Avenue or Royal Street to travel to U.S. Route 202.
All businesses near the railroad intersection will remain open, Woolston said.
Woolston said townspeople look forward to the rehabilitated rail crossing.
“We’re thanking them very much for their willingness to fix this problem,” he said.
Cynthia Scarano, executive vice president of the North Billerica, Mass., -based PanAmRailways, said the railroad frequently restores rubber at the crossings to make the road smoother.
The line through Winthrop is primarily used for freight, with commodities being transferred to paper companies, among other users. Scarano said as many as six trains a day use the crossing and as few as none. “It depends on the need,” she said.
Betty Adams — 621-5631
badams@centralmaine.com
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