PARIS — Repairs to a worn railroad crossing linking Market Square with the rest of Main Street have been pushed back because of higher-than-anticipated construction bids.

Maine Department of Transportation traffic resource manager Reggie Knowles confirmed Monday afternoon that the repairs will likely be incorporated into a larger paving project through Main Street later next month. 

“Until I find out the scope of work, I can’t say how long it’s going to take,” Knowles said.  

Knowles, who inspected the crossing on Thursday, said the initial plan outlined with town officials a few weeks ago targeted finishing the repairs to the crossing over the course of a single night. Now, however, those plans will have to be scrapped after estimates from outside contractors have forced the DOT to combine plans.

The announcement will likely push back the completion date supplied to town officials. Town Manager Amy Bernard said earlier Monday, before the conversation with Knowles, that the crossing could be completed by the end of August.

That estimate came from a meeting between town officials, the Maine DOT and representatives of St. Lawrence & Atlantic Railroad, who own and operate several hundred miles of industrial rail between Portland and Quebec, Canada.  

Paris town officials have been trying to urge the state and railroad officials to fix the crossing for several months. The rubber buffers which ease passage over the tracks have been worn, and motorists regularly weave away from the center of the tracks to lessen the impact on their vehicles. 

Route 26 is maintained by the state, though it reaches out of the railroad to coordinate repairs, Knowles said. 

To date, work on road repairs in Norway and Rumford have delayed efforts to fix the crossing, he said. 

“It was a rough winter,” he said. “We had major projects for the South Paris crew.” 

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