WATERBORO — Those who drive Old Alfred Road, dodging potholes and bumps, will have a smoother ride this fall.

Selectmen on Tuesday agreed that even though the Maine Department of Transportation won’t be contributing to the road repair project, the town will go ahead and get it done this fall.

The cost to apply one-inch shim and overlay to re-establish the crown and slope of the road and then add a 1 1/2 inch surface pavement coat comes to about $259,000. Gravel shoulders could add as much as $20,000 to the cost, said Town Administrator Gary Lamb.

The project does not include grinding and reconstruction, which would cost $500,000 to $600,000, Lamb estimated.

Selectman Dwayne Woodsome expressed concern that if the existing road surface isn’t ground, the new pavement may not hold.

The roadway, a two-mile connector between Route 202 and Route 5, is in rough condition — peppered with cracks and holes that developed in the surface of the last coat of asphalt.

Voters on June 12 approved money for repairs, with the town anticipating the state would match the municipal contribution, but Waterboro didn’t make the cut this year, Public Works Director David Benton told selectmen in June.

Selectmen discussed the project on Tuesday.

“David (Benton) and I agree we should do the whole thing this paving season,” said Lamb.

Selectmen’s Board Chairman Dennis Abbott agreed.

“It is like a ride at Funtown,” said Abbott, describing what i it feels like to drive the road.

“Funtown is safer,” Selectman Ted Doyle said.

The town has $306,000, which includes some carry over and what was budgeted for the project in June, in the capital improvement program, plus $250,000 earmarked for paving throughout the town, Lamb said.

“We owe it to the people in this community; with what we’ve said and the condition of the road, we should spend the $260,000,” he said.

The road was last paved and ditched by MDOT prior to July 1, 2012, when the state transportation department turned maintenance of the roadway over to the town.

Selectmen weren’t happy with the paving job done at the time, and felt it wouldn’t hold up to the 10-year standard outlined in state statute.

Waterboro officials have previously said that  heavy truck traffic has contributed to the deterioration of the road. Lamb on Wednesday said the town will continue its dialogue with MDOT on the subject.

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 327 or [email protected].