By Molly Lovell
Staff Writer
    Maine Department of Transportation and Portland Area Comprehensive Transportation Committee (PACTS) are partnering on a project to aid long term planning for road infrastructure and management in southern Maine.
    Senior Transportation Planner Paul Niehoff said roughly 200 miles of PACTS region collector roads will be studied in 15 towns, including Scarborough.
    Collector roads connect local, often residential streets. Niehoff said in terms of road classification, there are major and minor arterials and major and minor collector roads and local roads. Designations are based on population from census information.
    An important part of road assessment includes figuring out how roads were originally built and what material is underneath. Some roads were built over clay, which Niehoff said is unstable because it is soft and has high water content. He said a well built road has gravel underneath.
    In the past, assessment was performed by using a large drill rig to take soil samples under the road. Niehoff said technology has progressed and crews now use a “Falling Weight Deflectometer,” a more time efficient method of getting the same results.
    A Falling Weight Deflectometer determines the strength of the road by imparting a force using a falling weight. The 750 pound weight, is dropped from a pre-determined height onto a road, where ground sensors read deflections.
    “It’s basically how much the road moves. You can’t see the road move, but it sends vibrations. Depending on what the road is made up of, the readings that come back based on that deflection give an indication of how well built the road base is,” Niehoff said.
    The testing is a brief process and should not hold up traffic. Niehoff said much of the testing will happen at night and most towns have agreed to provide a police escort.
    The state has used the Falling Weight Deflectometer since 1996 and in 2006, MDOT started a system-wide study, including about 5,800 miles of road.
    Data generated from testing will be combined with traffic volume and road alignment reports to generate a highway adequacy rating and the best method of prevention. A final report is expected in September.
    Once the study is complete PACTS will send projects to the MDOT and request funding.
    “We have a philosophy here at PACTS, it’s more cost effective to maintain the roads that are in good condition,” he said.
    Niehoff said PACTS and the MDOT have developed three categories related to collector roads and needed improvements.
    The first are roads that meet all federal standards and are in good condition, only needing a layer of pavement.
    The second are roads that need more work or federal standard improvements, such as new guardrails.
    The third category includes roads that need a substantial amount of work.
    Niehoff said some public works departments have records of what material is underneath a road, but some are very old and date back nearly 70 years.
    “It’s a little unfortunate. The work keeps increasing and the work force keeps decreasing. You’re so busy repairing andrebuilding the roads, you don’t necessarily have the time to keep good records of exactly what’s built,” he said.
    Old Orchard Beach Public Works Director Mary Ann Conroy is excited about the project, and said it would be impossible for any local public works departments to do such a study without help from PACTS and MDOT because of the cost.
    Conroy said she would like to rent the Falling Weight Deflectometer to test other roads in town as the equipment is expensive.
    Niehoff said the Falling Weight Deflectometer cosst $182,000.