CARIBOU, Maine — Caribou City Council unanimously approved a $400,000 agreement with the Maine Department of Transportation on Feb. 24 to repair a portion of North Main Street.
Through the agreement, the department will pay up to $200,000, or half of the city’s costs, for the project.
The project covers a stretch of road that is more than a mile long, which begins on North Main Street near Caribou Public Library and goes up the roundabout adjacent to Cary Medical Center.
Caribou City Manager Dennis Marker explained to the council that the agreement would allow the city to accept the DOT funds for the project if the city abides by the state’s rules of putting the work out to bid and receives approval from an engineer indicating that everything was built to Maine DOT standards in order to get the funds.
Councilor Doug Morrell asked what type of work the project would consist of, such as mill and fill — which involves removing and replacing the current surface pavement, or grading — which focuses on the slope of the road. The mayor also asked if any subsurface work would be done on the road.
“The anticipation is that it would be a mill and fill vacuum,” he said, adding that the project would also include drainage work, sidewalks and curbing, similar to what was done on High Street in 2019.
Last year’s High Street project fixed problems on a street that Caribou Public Works Director Dave Ouellette said hadn’t been addressed in nearly 20 years. The High Street project also involved mill and fill work in addition to the installation of underground pipes and basins beneath the roadway, which will help the street’s stability in the coming years.
Mayor Mark Goughan commended the work done on High Street and said he looks forward to seeing the results of the North Main Street project.
“Now that we have a couple days of spring weather in the air, boy High Street is nice driving on now,” he said. “Every year there should be a project going on, built into the budget under infrastructure.”
Council also approved a motion allowing vehicles weighing more than the maximum allowed limit on certain roads so the DOT can complete an additional project that goes from Sleeper’s to Cary Medical Center.
Through this agreement, Caribou could require the contractor to pay for any damage that may occur on the roads due to the heavy equipment.
The specific municipal roads involved will not be known until a contractor is hired and develops a plan, a letter from DOT to the city said.
The project is overseen entirely by the state and will be primarily on state roads, Marker said.
