Road postings in place to avoid frost heave damage

By Ed Pierce

A total of 49 roads within the Town of Raymond have been posted for frost heaves this season by the Raymond Public Works Director.

Towns all across Maine begin posting roads
with vehicle weight limits when the ground
gets soft to avoid destruction of the 
pavement and subsurface.
COURTESY PHOTO  

The road restriction is for trucks weighing more than 23,000 pounds and is effective from Feb. 20 until May 1, 2024. Trucks exceeding the weight limit and not exempted by town ordinance must be cleared to travel over a posted road if conditions warrant.

Raymond Public Works Director Nathan White said that Routes 85, 121, 302 and Egypt Road in Raymond are exempt from the restrictions because they are state-maintained roads.

Frost heave damage to roadways is caused by an upward movement of pavement resulting from the expansion of trapped water beneath the roadway surface. Considerable frost heaves can produce permanent damage to roads and crack pavement surfaces with differing levels of severity. Distresses attributed to frost heaves can impact road surface quality and are unpredictable and costly for towns and municipalities to repair.

According to the Maine Department of Transportation, as spring temperatures warm and the ground thaws, the soil situated beneath roadway pavement becomes saturated with water, making it unstable and leaving many roads unable to support heavy loads and putting them at risk for damage.

Typically, a road that can easily handle a 15-ton weight truck in summer or winter months may only be able to handle a 5-ton load during spring thawing.

MDOT says a posted road’s maximum weight limit is 23,000 pounds and it’s a temporary measure that’s designed to protect roads in vulnerable conditions.

The costs pf repairing or rebuilding a road damaged by a frost heave can be substantial, running as much as into the tens of thousands per mile in some cases.

When the ground begins to thaw and materials beneath roadway surfaces are saturated with moisture, travel over these roads by heavy vehicles exceeding 23,000 pounds also can cause cracking, potholes, and rutting.

Roads in Raymond that have been posted include Ball Drive; Brown Road; Canal Road; Cape Road; Caton Road; Chapel Street; Conesca Road; County Road; Crockett Road; David Plummer Road; Deep Cove Road; Dolimount Road; Dyer Road; Elizabeth Avenue; Frye Road; Gay Street; Giselle Avenue; Gore Road and Harmon Road.

Also posted are Ledge Hill Road; Lloyds Lane; Lyn Court; Mailman Road; Main Street; Martin Heights; McDermott Road; Mill Street; Mountain Road; North Raymond Road; Panther Pond Pines; Patricia Avenue; Peterson Road; Pine Lane; Pipeline Road; Plains Road; Pond Road; Presidential View; Raymond Hill Road; Ridge Road; Salmon Run; Shaker Woods Road; Shaw Road; Spiller Hill Road; Tarkiln Hill Road; Tassel Top Drive; Tenny Hill Road; Valley Road; Wawenock Road; and Westview Drive.

The posted roads may have restrictions lifted earlier should weather conditions warrant. 

The Town of Windham has not yet announced their road postings for this season but is expected to release that information in the next few weeks.<