Paving under way on Route 164

    The re-paving of Route 164 (Washburn Road) between Presque Isle and Washburn is well under way. The project is one of several the Maine Department of Transportation is overseeing this summer.
“The work is being done by McGillan’s of Fort Fairfield, with Steelstone Industries, of Houlton, paving as a subcontractor for McGillan’s,” said Brent Bubar, northern region engineer, with the MDOT.
Bubar said this is a continuation of the Route 164 paving project that was started last summer.
“We did Route 164 between Caribou and Washburn in 2013. This year we’re doing about 11 miles of road between Washburn and Presque Isle,” he said. “We’re doing from Route 1 in Presque Isle through to the high school in Washburn.”
According to Bubar, pre-construction began last week, which included filling in potholes and sealing cracks. Once that was completed, crews began the task of stripping asphalt where necessary, then paving got under way.
“First we shimmed, then put a three-quarter-inch final surface. We’re replacing guardrail in some areas. A lot of the drainage work was done over the past couple years,” said Bubar. “We did some ditching near Crouseville before winter last year, with help from the farmer (whose land is adjacent to Route 164 as you head into the community).”
Spring flooding did minimal damage, noted Bubar.
“There was some minor shoulder damage near the Hospitality Inn. That can be a harder thing to fix, since it depends on ice in the river. There’s no way to predict where ice will go when the river floods in the spring,” he said.
For motorists who travel that route regularly, what’s been done already has made a marked difference. The road, once the site of numerous potholes and ruts, now provides smooth passage for drivers.
“It should be quite an improvement, once work is completed,” Bubar said.
Bubar said there’s also a paving project going on between Perham and Washburn.
He said delays are to be expected, with traffic reduced to one lane as crews continue their work this summer.
“Make sure to allow adequate time to reach your destination. Or if you don’t want to travel through construction, the alternate routes between Washburn and Presque Isle include the Parsons and State roads,” Bubar said.
Work is expected to be finished by September.