Hopefully, by now, everyone in Saco has been positively affected by the completion of the 2.3 million dollar paving bond passed by voters in November 2009. The use of these funds over the past two years has helped eliminate about 75% of the City's backlog of road paving needs. Whether it was during a summer trip down Ferry Rd to get to the beach, commuting to work on Jenkins Road, or leaving your neighborhood on King Street, most people have driven on roads improved with paving bond funds.

Public Works provided over 20,000 man hours of support to the paving bond to reduce contracted costs and increase the tons of pavement being put on the roadways. Road paving was contracted out, while Public Works performed the drainage improvements, culvert replacements, driveway apron paving, sidewalk construction, and road shoulder repairs. Contractors who contributed to the bond projects through supplying materials or specialized construction services include Dayton Sand & Gravel, Dirigo Slipform, Shaw Brothers Construction, Dearborn Construction, and Littlefield & Hall Construction.

In completing the two-year paving bond expenditure, the City put down close to 25,000 tons of new pavement. During the same two year period the City also contributed to MDOT State paving in the City that put down an additional 10,000 tons of pavement. Looking forward, maintaining the current condition of our 120 miles of roads will take an annual allotment of almost 14,000 tons of pavement. Due to the matching funds paid for State projects and related work that was completed with each road we paved, there are still many roads listed as high priority on our paving list. These roads will be the first ones completed as more funding is allocated.

Public Works would like to thank all of the residents who supported the upkeep of our road system and everyone's cooperation and patients in helping us get the job done. Remember, paving needs will never stop, but proper maintenance of roads will save us all money in the long run.