Wilton Road paving project to await natural gas pipeline

FARMINGTON – A Maine Department of Transportation project to pave the Wilton Road in 2016 will likely be pushed back at least a year, after selectmen supported the delay to accommodate a proposal to bring natural gas into the region.

Summit Natural Gas of Maine, a subsidiary of Summit Utilities, Inc., is expanding natural gas pipelines and other delivery infrastructure in the state, and the company expressed interest in bringing natural gas to Farmington when a group of local business owners, town and state officials began researching the option. The most logical route, given the locations of large, potential customers such as Franklin Memorial Hospital, PalletOne in Livermore Falls and the University of Maine at Farmington facilities, would be along the Wilton Road, connecting the expansion to the terminal at the Verso Paper Mill in Jay.

However, Town Manager Richard Davis reported that the installation of the pipeline was unlikely to begin until 2016 at the earliest. That would conflict with a MDOT project to pave the Wilton Road, which has shown signs of deterioration, particularly in the section between Center Bridge and Hannaford.

The road is in an urban compact zone, which means Farmington is responsible for its upkeep in between MDOT rebuilding projects. The Public Works Department has been attempting to address potholes and protruding manhole covers but the heavy traffic has made it difficult to get patches to stick.

According to MDOT, it’s up to the town when the state paving project commences. If MDOT paves in 2016, the pipeline would include some sort of supplement road work; pulling up some or all of a lane to bury the line. If further issues developed as a result of the trench pave, the town would be responsible.

Typically, Davis noted, MDOT implemented a five-year moratorium on digging into a newly-paved road.

If the town decides to wait for the pipeline, MDOT will delay the paving project. That would make trench paving unnecessary, but the town would be responsible for Wilton Road maintenance. Public Works Department Director Denis Castonguay recently estimated that the town had spent $21,000 in road work on the Wilton Road, year-to-date.

Selectman Michael Fogg said he was in favor of bringing natural gas into Farmington, but questioned if delaying the Wilton Road project, given the state of the road, was wise.

“Let’s take care of our major concern,” Fogg said.

Board Chair Ryan Morgan, who noted rather ruefully that he lived at the midpoint between Center Bridge and Hannaford and experienced the worst sections of the Wilton Road on a daily basis, said that he supported waiting for the pipeline. A number of people, including selectmen, had worked very hard to attract the interest of natural gas companies, Morgan said.

“I think [natural] gas has big potential for Farmington’s growth,” Morgan said.

The board agreed to have MDOT wait for further word from Summit Utilities before proceeding with a paving project. Further information is expected in October.