JAY — A portion of the Whistle Stop Trail will be closed from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays beginning Monday from the Jay Plaza on Route 4 to the northern-most entrance to Old Jay Hill Road to allow for Jay’s sewer conversion.
The multipurpose trail will be closed until the second week in November, Les Jordan, owner of Jordan Excavation in Kingfield, said Friday. The trail will be open after 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday. It will be open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, he said.
A portion of the Whistle Stop Trail in Jay will be closed beginning Monday, July 29, from Jay Plaza to the northern-most entrance to Old Jay Hill Road from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays to the second week in November for Jay’s sewer conversion project. Donna M. Perry/Sun Journal
Among the users of the four-season trail are all-terrain-vehicle riders, mountain bikers, equestrians, snowmobilers and hikers. The 14-mile trail runs from Jay to Farmington and connects to other trails.
The Whistle Stop Trail, which was once a railroad line, was purchased by the state for recreational purposes on Oct. 29, 1999, for $198,000 with money made available from the state’s Land for Maine’s Future program.
Jay is installing a new pump station, along with 19,000 feet of sewer pipe that will send sewage from North Jay to an existing collection system at Jay Plaza, and then on to the Livermore Falls Wastewater Treatment Plant.
The sewer line will run beside about 2½ miles of the trail leased by Jay. The work includes clearing, pipe placement, line boring and placement, and excavation, Jordan said.
The town is abandoning its North Jay Sewer Treatment Plant to eliminate discharges into Seven Mile Stream. The conversion will be more cost-efficient, according to Sewer Superintendent Mark Holt.
The Jay select board voted unanimously in June to award the construction contract to Jordan Excavation for $4.31 million. The company’s bid was the lowest of two received.
The cost of the conversion was increased earlier this month to $5.2 million to make sure there is enough money in contingency. The town has qualified for $3 million in grants, of which $1 million is considered loan principal forgiveness. The town will borrow $2.2 million for the project. Last year, voters approved borrowing up to $3.9 million for the sewer conversion.
There could possibly be a detour on the North Jay end of the project at some point but not for the south end, Brian Bronson, a supervisor with the state Bureau of Parks and Lands, said. There was no safe, effective way to do it, he said.
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