Work starts on Big Moose Mountain road culvert repairs
DOVER-FOXCROFT — Culvert work has started on the Ski Resort Road leading up Big Moose Mountain.
Earlier this month the Piscataquis County Commissioners awarded the project to Gordon Contracting of Sangerville, which is in the midst of an extensive road project across multiple communities on nearby Route 15. Gordon Contracting provided three different scopes of work and the least expensive $69,285 option for culvert spot repairs was selected. The firm will grind low spots and fill these in with pavement.
Gordon Contracting has not yet provided a timeline to County Manager Mike Williams, he said during the Sept. 14 county commissioners meeting.
“He will probably be doing it sooner rather than later because he has his equipment right there,” Williams said.
The county commissioners sought the estimate following a request from the Friends of the Mountain.
Road Agent Carl Henderson marked spots on the 1.6-mile road for the contractor to reference when developing a repair estimate on the deteriorating pavement.
Gordon Contracting’s other two options were a full roadway rehabilitation for nearly $626,000 and all of the culvert work plus laying pavement, an average of 1.5 inches, for nearly $300,000.
In other business, a request for proposals for four prefabricated 10-by-16-foot communications buildings and an option for one more has been posted with an Oct. 5 due date. The structures will be part of Piscataquis County’s $6.9 million emergency radio system project.
ARPA funds should cover the building. Williams said several years ago similar structures for a Penobscot County project were in the $12,000 to $14,000 range each.
The endeavor to fix the county’s emergency personnel radio communications has been years in the making. Since 2020, Piscataquis County and municipal emergency officials have been updating outdated infrastructure and finding solutions to issues stemming from the hilly and mountainous terrain of the region. They are trying to get the best coverage for the best use of funds.
Sheriff Bob Young said Chris Cyr, who patrols northern Piscataquis County, will resign at the end of the month.
“He travels down from Aroostook, he stays here the days that he’s working,” Young said. “It’s just getting to be too much.”
The sheriff said he is sorry to lose Cyr.
A retired state trooper, Cyr had worked in Piscataquis County since the summer 2025.