RANGELEY – Developers of the Quimby Pond Overlook subdivision got a variance from the town on road construction standards on June 1.

Richard and Don Morton own the planned subdivision on Quimby Pond Road. The Mortons asked selectmen for a variance on the ordinance requiring that all roads be built with an 18-inch gravel sub-base.

Town Manager Perry Ellsworth, who has visited the property and examined the proposed road materials, updated selectmen on the project.

The board examined a sample of the blasted black rock that the Mortons plan to use in construction of the subdivision road, along with photos of the materials to be used for the road’s sub-base. Ellsworth told the board, “What you have in your hands is a superior material to gravel.” Ellsworth described the rock as solid blasted rock, not shale.

The variance for the Quimby Pond Overlook road requires that 75 percent of the road base use the blasted black rock, and states that the road will be subject to inspection by Ellsworth during construction.

The Mortons have said the road will remain private.

Ellsworth said, “I would not support it as a town road, without further testing.”