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Large hole on Route 172 causes concern

Community members in Surry are concerned about a large hole in the road on Route 172. The town can't do anything about it because it's a state road.

SURRY, Maine — Ken Dugas owns Dugas Construction and Paving in Surry.

He has employees driving heavy machinery up and down Route 172 every day.

"You know it's a danger for these big trucks going back and forth constantly and having a truck fall in that big ditch, they've been as big as two feet," he said.

Dugas says he reminds his employees the hole is there, but for the locals, it's not a big deal, because they know it's there. He's more concerned about people traveling through the 50-mph road.

Town officials in Surry say the hole got really bad in December and they receive multiple calls about it each day. But they aren't the ones responsible for that road.

"We're actually starting tomorrow morning," Steve Thebarge of the Maine Department of Transportation said.

Thebarge says the DOT has been planning on addressing the problem in late May or early June so they are on schedule.

Part of the reason it sometimes takes longer to address these road problems is the number of potholes in the state.

Not only are there more potholes, but there are fewer DOT employees

"We have had a hard time hiring and retaining employees, especially our frontline transportation workers," Thebarge said.

Thebarge says there are many reasons we're having this pothole issue and the holes are being created because of the past winter.

"The freeze-thaw cycle is what causes that. And we've been out there continually since really last fall trying to get the roads in a good condition or to keep them safe," he said.

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