ALBION — Despite bumps along the way, Marks Road residents appear pleased Albion is taking steps to improve their town-owned gravel road.
The Albion Selectboard voted 2-0 Monday to accept a bid for more than $67,000 from excavating contractor S.B. Martin, of Winslow, for a contract to repair the dead-end Marks Road, off South Freedom Road.
The town also received a $78,500 bid from Nitram Excavation, of Benton.
Conditions on Marks Road have been a topic of conversation since at least March, when resident Robert Brown requested “that repair work be done on the Marks Road this year,” according to Selectboard meeting minutes. Residents returned multiple times to advocate for repairs on their road, the minutes indicate.
Brown and several other Marks Road residents were on hand Monday night, arriving with frustrations but leaving encouraged by the contract award to Steve Martin, of S.B. Martin.
Before the meeting, Doreen Madore said that the road’s condition has complicated school bus access, and Rodney Fuller said the road is in the worst shape he’s seen in decades.
“They used to at least grade it,” Fuller said. “They don’t even do that anymore. I bet you I’ve been on that road for 30 years.”
“There’s no secret that the road is lower than the ditch,” Brown said.
“We’re not trying to start an uproar, by any means,” Brown said before Monday night’s meeting. He later called the vote to award the contract “good progress.” Martin said he has several other projects underway in the area and hopes to get started on Marks Road soon. The S.B. Martin bid outlines the project costs, including nearly $4,000 for box-cutting the road, almost $42,000 for gravel and more than $20,000 for gravel surfacing.
“It’s a very doable thing,” Martin said when Selectboard Chairwoman Beverly Bradstreet asked if he could complete the job this fall.
Brown said he first raised the issue at a meeting in 2006 and attributed this week’s action to “being persistent.”
Bradstreet said Marks Road residents “have been very vocal” over the past several months.
“We’ve got to get it done,” Selectboard member Kevin Bradstreet said.
The Bradstreets, who are mother and son, have been the only two members of the three-member Selectboard since Michael Getchell resigned in May.
The board also heard Monday night from resident John Ayen about the intersection of Knights and Harding roads. Ayen said he’s been raising concerns about the intersection for three years.
Matt Junker — 861-9253
Twitter: @mattjunker
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