BANGOR, Maine — After 12 months of wear and tear and snowplows scraping up roads, repainting Bangor’s street lines is an annual chore. However, this year, the task is behind schedule, and drivers are noticing.
Nearing a decade of working downtown, Lily Geiser says there's a pattern with the painting.
"When the lines are first painted, you have about a month of somewhat better driving organization. It’s not as excruciating to get to work or to park," she said.
Currently, Mae Gosnell, who commutes through town daily, describes driving through town as "anarchy."
Director of Public Works Aaron Huotari says the delay is in part due to bad luck.
On-The-Line Inc. is taking care of long-line painting—the continuous and dashed yellow or white lines on the road. Huotari says that the business had a critical employee catch pneumonia, a truck was damaged in an accident, and another vehicle lost an engine.
Despite the setbacks, the near 200 miles of long lines are expected to be done by the end of the week.
On the other hand, stenciled painting is, at best, expected to conclude in mid-September. Based in Old Town, Street’s Landscape & Lawn Care Inc. has done work for neighboring towns, but staffing issues have limited progress, according to Huotari.
"This is a little more specialized than your regular old construction work," he said.
This year is also Street’s first working for Bangor, but Huotari is looking forward to Bangor Public Works developing a relationship over the remainder of the three-year contract the contractor's proximity to town.
But Huotari admits that the contractors weren’t given a great timeline to begin with, noting the city was late to accepting project bids.
Bangor police Sgt. Jason McAmbley said factors contributing to dangerous roads reach far beyond faint road lines and markings.
"It's nothing to do with the painting. It's more that distracted driving is the problem than any painting on the roads or signs being in the proper spot."