CAMBRIDGE — The Cambridge General Store is back in business after a logging truck crashed through its south side in late August.

Recently the state began to improve the dangerous curve in the road nearby.

Now, however, the store’s owners and town residents are worried about the business’ north side, specifically the small, attached post office, which draws customers and serves as a community hub. The U.S. Postal Service is proposing to close it because of a decline in revenue.

In response, 88 residents have signed a petition to save it, Town Clerk Carol Laplant said.

“It’s just like a gathering place, the post office, as is the general store,” owner Brenda DiMeo said, sitting on a stool in front of the kitchen area while her son made lunch for customers.

It’s been an eventful first year for the town’s only retail business. It had been open just six months when a tractor-trailer truck loaded with tree-length logs rounded the sharp curve in Route 150 right before the store. Traveling too fast, the truck tipped over and slammed into the store’s cooler room.

Though no one was injured, the Aug. 23 crash caused more than $60,000 in damage, which was covered by insurance, DiMeo said. It took three months to replace the wall, repaint the inside and outside and install a new cooler.

Lifelong resident Greg Davis said he’s glad the store is open again. He eats lunch at the counter about every day.

“What would a town be without a general store?” he said. “Everything’s excellent here.”

DiMeo is also happy to be open again. The store has added novelty items, like candles and jewelry, and it now has a wine selection. But, “we’re still trying to get back on our feet.”

There were four crashes at the curve in the last 10 years before the one in August, said Ted Talbot, public information officer for the state Department of Transportation. The department is trying to prevent another one he said.

The state installed two warning signs on either side of the corner this week. They will eventually be equipped with flashing lights that turn on when approaching vehicles are traveling above the speed limit. The total cost will be between $7,000 and $10,000.

The state also plans to put a guardrail up along the curve, though the installation date is not yet set. The curve, which connects with Route 152, has an annual average daily traffic count of 1,520 vehicles north of the intersection and 1,460 south of it, Talbot said.

The improvements can’t come soon enough, particularly as ice makes the road more hazardous, DiMeo said. But she doesn’t dwell on another truck crashing through her store.

“You just have to go day by day,” she said.

What she is more concerned about now is the post office, which is joined to the store. People who come in to mail a package often buy a gallon of milk, she said.

Friday was the last day for the Postal Service to accept written comments about the proposed closing. If it is shut down, the next nearest one is the Harmony post office five miles away.

According to the Postal Service, the Cambridge post office has seen a decline in mail volume and walk-in revenue over the years. In 2007 it brought in $35,500. In 2010, the amount was down to $25,800. There are four employees.

The Postal Service estimates it can save about $911,800 over 10 years if it closed the post office, ending services for 57 P.O. boxes and 180 delivery route customers.

Still, residents and those from surrounding towns who use the post office said they feel like they’re being punished for living in a small community. Cambridge has about 530 residents.

Kevin Pingree lives in nearby Ripley, but stopped in recently to do business at the post office and grab lunch at the store.

“It was handy since I was right here,” he said. “You can hit both places at once.”

He said the government spends a lot of money on other programs and won’t save a great amount by eliminating the post office. Instead, it will have a negative impact on those who rely on it, including the general store, he said.

Erin Rhoda — 612-2368

erhoda@centralmaine.com