AUGUSTA – The Maine Department of Transportation will begin its 2004 brush control spray program the week of June 14, according to MDOT senior landscape architect Bob Moosmann.

The program helps maintain proper sight distances at curves, intersections, driveways, hills and road entrances for safer driving. Roadsides free of brush also allow for room to store snow in the winter months and sunlight to melt ice.

In recent years, the department has dramatically reduced its reliance on herbicides by establishing plant communities that prevent trees from sprouting.

Training sessions are held every year for employees and contractors who apply herbicides for the department. Depending on site conditions, the materials used to control brush are called Triclopyr, Dicamba, or Fosamine Ammonium. These materials are mixed with water to form a very dilute mixture that is as much as 99.5 percent water.

Municipalities and landowners living along spray routes may enter into No Spray agreements with MDOT. These are cooperative agreements in which municipalities or landowners agree to cut brush and maintain the roadside vegetation to MDOT specifications.

For more information, contact the MDOT Regional Office in Dixfield at 562-4228.

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