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Maine Alliance for Road Associations

Road consultant

  • 21 Apr 2024 12:04 PM
    Message # 13346167

    We have about 2 1/4 miles of dirt road that is in desperate need of major work. It was suggested we contact Josh Platt which we did. I think his fee would save us money in the long run but board members say his fee buys a lot of gravel and just patch the road.
    Has anyone used Josh and his plans to rehab your road? How was the road in subsequent years? Would you be open to a phone conversation?
    TIA!


  • 22 Apr 2024 9:44 AM
    Reply # 13346413 on 13346167
    Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Josh is good, so I don't want to not recommend him, but he is pricey.  So if you have the money, it wouldn't be a bad investment, but if you have limited funds to work with, I'd vote with those who say just fix the road.  But do your homework first and learn what you can about how to fix it.  There are a couple of good manuals on gravel road maintenance on the MARA Resources page, section 4. 

    What's perhaps more important is to hire a contractor who has a good record of fixing similar roads, or who has worked with Josh or a similar expert before.  If the contractor knows what Josh would recommend anyway, you should do okay.  If your contractor thinks he knows what's best (but doesn't really,) he might ignore Josh's recommendations, or do a poor job of carrying them out.


  • 22 Apr 2024 10:53 PM
    Reply # 13346842 on 13346167

    Long time ago, Josh used to do workshops for MARA. His presentations have been VERY helpful to road associations. His work seems to me to be similar to our Maine counties soil and water conservation districts, but they too charge quite the cost for their services.

    It's sad that municipalities that classify our roads as a public easement don't provide assistance for services on our roads, discounts or major reduction in our municipal taxes. Thus leaving private owners doing double duty of paying our taxes and paying for road repairs for the public to use our roads. We are fortunate that we receive winter maintenance and trash pick up in Windham. 

    In seeking ways to save money for members, I have found MOST helpful is the Road Ranger from MDOT. You may have to talk to his boss Pete Coughlan to obtain special arrangements. It's a reasonable cost but the direction and advice is very practical. Brochure attached.

    Also the MDEP has a representative who can do a "walkabout" with you about your road/s and offer oral suggestions about improving your road/s. https://www.maine.gov/dep/land/watershed/index.html

    MDEP makes a link to MARA too. 

    https://www.maine.gov/dep/land/watershed/roadassociation.html

    Finally, for our association, we have to prioritize our road repairs, section by section, over time, to manage our finances to keep assessment dues low.

    1 file
    Last modified: 22 Apr 2024 11:10 PM | Anonymous member
  • 24 Apr 2024 12:16 AM
    Reply # 13347400 on 13346167
    Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Unfortunately, my understanding is that the road review services of both the DOT and the DEP are only available to municipalities, not to private road associations.  Maybe if your road has a public easement that might give you a loophole, but otherwise I believe they will not work with road associations.

  • 26 Apr 2024 3:14 PM
    Reply # 13348756 on 13346167

    I actually did receive DOT services for a cost, whether it was private or a privateway, and I had DEP services for free. It might have been a lucky event or maybe it's still available for road associations. So I am contacting the DOT and DEP to confirm my information and will report the names and contacts to you all. What I liked about the info I got from DOT and DEP was it made it a safer environment to our owners. It also helped when contractors made suggestions that I was able to say, " that's what the DEP said too".

                            The Maine Alliance for Road Associations


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