PARIS – A state-run grant program will seek to improve the safety of some rural roads that have seen serious accidents.

Both Town Manager Sharon Jackson and Lt. Michael Dailey, who does accident reconstruction with the Paris Police Department, said the funds would go toward improving the visibility of a road’s path through signs and painted dividers.

Jackson, who also serves as the town’s road commissioner, said the town would focus on Mt. Mica Road, the intersection between Paris Hill Road and Hill Street, and the railroad crossings on Hathaway Road and Prospect Avenue.

Funds for the improvements come from the federally funded SAFETEA-LU program, which includes a component for increasing the safety of rural roads. According to the Maine Department of Transportation, more than 60 percent of traffic fatalities occur on local roads, which are mostly owned by towns and counties.

“We don’t see any funds,” Jackson said. “They’ll buy everything that is needed and they’ll deliver it to us.”

Dailey said the MDOT receives crash reports from the town and may analyze them. When MDOT officials introduced the program to Jackson, they were concerned with a high frequency of accidents on Mt. Mica Road.

“There’s some pretty significant grade changes and curves that are out there,” Dailey said.

Dailey said Mt. Mica Road is used mostly by Paris and Buckfield residents who are familiar with it, but there is also a higher rate of vehicles running off the road. Dailey said these accidents can be caused by speed, alcohol, or other factors, but the frequency of the accidents is what brought the attention of the MDOT.

Jackson said the road is posted with speed limit signs and some directional arrows, but the overall number of signs is “limited.” She said the funds pay for more warning signs about the road’s S-curves, blind hills and blind drives.

On Aug. 23, two representatives from the MDOT met with Jackson, Dailey and Paris highway director Frank Danforth. The town officials brought the other sites to the attention of the MDOT representatives during the two-hour meeting.

One of the sites was the Y-shaped intersection between Paris Hill Road and Hill Street. In April, Paris resident Bruce May was seriously injured when the motorcycle he was riding and a vehicle driven by Janet Porter of Gorham collided.

Dailey said Porter’s unfamiliarity with the area may have led her to believe Hill Street was a continuation of Paris Hill Road, causing her to cut across the curve into May’s path.

Jackson said improvements to the road would include the use of curve signs, chevron signs to warn of a sharp turn, and a painted yellow line to better delineate the curve. While the town removes brush on its right of way, it may look into cooperating with private residences to remove any other obstructing vegetation near the intersection.

“This hopefully will eliminate any confusion with that intersection,” Dailey said.

The town will also look into improving two “passive” railroad crossings that do not have lights or gates. Paul Chamberlain of Paris was injured on Thanksgiving Day in 2005 when his car was struck by a train at the Prospect Avenue crossing. Edward Kilgore was killed earlier this month when his truck was hit by a train at the Hathaway Road crossing near his home.

Dailey said most motorists using the crossings are “thoroughly familiar” with them. He said officials may look into installing an active crossing on Hathaway Road, due to the proximity of the Paris Elementary School, but low traffic on the dead-end street may nix that idea.

Dailey said the crossings are in compliance with the law, although investigators found a sign missing after the fatal collision and replaced it. Dailey said funds may be used to replace or upgrade signs at the crossings.

Jackson said the MDOT will have a final response within 60 days. She said any signs and poles would be delivered to the town, free of charge. Their installation would be worked into the schedule of the town’s highway department.

Jackson said the MDOT is aiming to complete the upgrades by October to avoid complications with frozen ground.