Gordon Contracting awarded bid for Route 7, 15 intersection project
DOVER-FOXCROFT — This coming summer the Maine Department of Transportation plans to widen the corner of East Main and South Street (Route 15 and Route 7) in downtown Dover-Foxcroft in part to allow for easier turns by tractor trailer trucks.
The work will be carried out by Gordon Contracting as the Sangerville-based firm was awarded the bid by the MDOT on Jan. 15. Gordon Contacting was the low bidder at $1,634,388, over $400,000 less than the $2,038,590 bid from Eurovia Atlantic Coast LLC aka Northeast Paving.
TRAFFIC IMPROVEMENTS — The Maine Department of Transportation is planning to widen the intersection of Route 15 and Route 7 in downtown in Dover-Foxcroft, which will help with issues such as tractor trailer trucks having difficulties making the turn off and on Route 7.
“We are excited to get to work on this project so close to home,” Gordon Contracting President Brian Howard wrote in an email. “Last year we completed new intersections at Stillwater Avenue and College Avenue in Old Town (heading to the University of Maine) which was a $12 million contract, as well as the US (Route) 1 Searsport contract which was a $18,000,000 project. We completed the Old Town project 12 months ahead of the deadline and the Searsport project was completed eight months ahead of schedule. We look forward to moving through this small intersection in very little time.”
The project completion date is Nov. 1.
The goal of the approximate .12-mile project is to increase the turning radius for the right turn from Route 15 to Route 7 so trucks can stay in the roadway and no longer will need to encroach on the sidewalk.. The design will also redo the sidewalks on the north side of Route 15 from asphalt to concrete to match the aesthetic of the downtown area and make these ADA-compliant. New traffic signals and street signs will be installed for nighttime illumination and the current concrete entrance will be converted to asphalt and be ADA-compliant.
A needed step in the pre-construction process was taken by the Dover-Foxcroft Select Board as a construction agreement between the town and MDOT was approved last month.
“This is very routine,” Town Manager Jack Clukey said during the Dec. 16 meeting. “When the DOT has a project it puts out an agreement that’s basically the same for all towns.”
Per the agreement should the MDOT need to use any local roads to access the project then the town will make reasonable efforts to accommodate the project should the equipment weight limits exceed any limits established by the municipality. This scenario is unlikely given the Dover-Foxcroft project is located at the intersection of two state highways and MDOT equipment would not need to be transported over town roads.
“We would be willing to be reasonable with them to accommodate the project and have a permit,” Clukey said, should any such scenario arise.