OTISFIELD — The Road Committee will hold a public hearing next week on a $1.6 million bond to rebuild five roads.

The hearing is set for 7 p.m. Thursday, April 23, at the Town Office annex on Route 121.

Road Committee member Herb Olsen said the roads being considered are those that connect one side of the town to the other. He didn’t identify them.

“The emphasis is to get people across town,” he said. “These roads are what the Fire Department uses to get across town the quickest.”

Route 121 and Bolsters Mills Road, which are state roads, are not among them, he said.

If voters approve the proposed five-year bond at the annual town meeting June 27, it would be the first road bond the town has had. 

Olson said the committee is recommending passage of the bond.

If voters don’t approve it, they may be asked to appropriate an annual amount to help pay for rebuilding one road.

The Road Committee has been studying the town’s 47 miles of roads for about six years. The work included a review by Road Commissioner Richard Bean Sr.

“Every road has been gone over a minimum of two times,” Olsen said.

In 2012, the committee collected data of the 26 paved and 21 gravel roads by driving each mile and using a Global Positioning System and Tripometer. The information was entered into the Road System Management Software. Afterward, volunteers spent about 36 hours assessing each road and a priority list for maintenance and repairs was made.

The information was presented at the annual town meeting last year and voters supported the committee’s desire to make major improvements.

ldixon@sunmediagroup.net