On his way home from work in a March storm, Max Southam of Bethel stopped to help three separate motorists whose vehicles ended up in culverts along a 2½-mile stretch of Route 5.

“They weren’t doing anything wrong,” Southam said. “Just the crown of the road pushed them off the edge and they ended up in a snowbank.”

Southam and other area residents are disappointed that the planned $18.5 million reconstruction of Route 5 in Bethel and Albany Township has been scaled back to a Light Capital Paving project, with paving expected to begin after Labor Day. 

Damian Veilleux, Maine Department of Transportation virtual public involvement coordinator, said Route 5 is classified as a Highway Corridor Priority 4, which generally receives light paving about every seven years.

Because of the road’s condition, this stretch had been scheduled for a Collector Highway Improvement Project. But funding challenges prompted the department to scale the project back to light capital paving, he said recently, ensuring the road would receive “some sort of treatment this season.”

The larger project could appear in a future work plan, Veilleux said, but “will not be immediate,” because the road is receiving new pavement this season.

Albany Township resident Chuck Hurd said, “If it’s going to be another five to 10 years (before reconstruction), that’s a dangerous decision for the safety of everyone.

“It would be great to see some priority to this project,” he said.

Hurd, who has lived on Route 5 for 20 years, said the road’s condition has steadily deteriorated despite repeated paving.

Improvements, he said, are short-lived.

The section near Songo Pond is especially dangerous. The narrow curve and soft shoulder are particularly hazardous when a logging truck meets a cement truck, especially with a bicyclist also on the road. “It’s scary to think about the potential outcome,” Hurd said.

At 45 or 50 mph, Southam said, drivers who aren’t familiar with the road can lose control.

“You can easily get bounced off the road or collide with another driver who is cutting a corner because it’s safer than driving in their own lane,” he said. “It is pretty heads-up driving.”

Potholes and crumbling pavement are among the road’s main hazards, Southam said. The road’s crown is also steeply sloped toward the outside in places, and on some curves, the slope works against the direction of the turn, making it more difficult to stay in the lane.

“There are a lot of sections where the white line has completely crumbled away,” he said. “It’s gravel, not even asphalt anymore.”

He also pointed to large potholes around culverts where he believes the roadbed was not properly compacted.

“I have seen cars bounce across the road,” he said. “The outer edge is sunk way down into the ground.”

“All of those things represent structural issues, not surface issues,” Southam said.

Southam travels Route 5 to and from work nearly every day. He said he would like to see an updated timeline for the reconstruction and questioned why trees were cleared along the route if the larger project is being delayed.

He said paving the road as a temporary measure would make sense if reconstruction is expected within the next year or two.

“It crowns and pitches and has an untold amount of potholes and other types of disrepair,” he said. “Constant proactive driving is required in order to avoid all manner of impediments.”

“It’s ‘good’ for maybe one year before deterioration becomes a major concern again,” he said. “This road is way overdue for a full reconstruction.”

Although Hurd needs Route 5 to get home, he said he uses Vernon Street, when possible, to avoid the worst sections. He estimates that poor road conditions have cost his family tens of thousands of dollars in vehicle repairs and accelerated wear.

“We have suffered above-average wear on our suspension and tires,” he said. “We require new tires every single year, plus one complete suspension repair and numerous other less severe suspension repairs.”

Jordan Rowell of Albany Township also expressed concerns about the road. He described cycling on Route 5 between Bethel and the World Travelers Signpost in Albany Township as “extremely unpleasant, intimidating, and more dangerous than it should be.”

Rowell said he is particularly concerned about the lack of paved shoulders on state highways in the region. He said nonmotorized users should be given greater consideration when state road projects are planned.

Southam said the condition of Route 5 has affected his own cycling habits.

“Because of the dangerousness of the roads, I no longer ride road bikes in the area,” he said.

For Hurd, the decision to scale back the project raises questions beyond the road’s condition. He said residents deserve a clear explanation of how and why the project changed, particularly after years of anticipating a full reconstruction.

“We need clear answers to how, when and why these decisions are being made so as to avoid conjecture,” Hurd said. “It feels like we have been lied to over and over. We are a generally understanding and patient public if we are kept informed. This has been far from the case with this road construction project.”

A legislative aide to state Sen. Joseph R. Martin of Rumford, said inquiries to MDOT officials indicated the department’s need to trim back projects that could safely be delayed.

“When we were in the position a couple of months ago having to identify projects to cut/delay due to funding constraints, projects like this paving project in Albany were being reviewed by an internal committee at MaineDOT tasked with reviewing all projects and the condition of our assets to determine which project could safely be delayed,” MDOT officials responded.  

“At that time, we made the decision to delay the larger (Collector Highway Improvement Project) on this stretch (along with a similar type of project up in the Penobscot area) and pave the road this construction season as a holdover measure until the larger project can be rescheduled in future years. This decision ensured that the road received some sort of attention this year as a holdover measure,” the MDOT spokesperson responded.