Maine ROADWays: Photos

IMAGES FOR DISCONTINUED ROAD

What does a discontinued road look like? Public maintenance ceases when a road is discontinued, leaving the road to deteriorate unless a private individual takes on the expense. Unless otherwise indicated, the pictures below all show Maine roads that have been discontinued or abandoned. Most of them remain "public easements," which means that although they are no longer kept in repair with public funds, legally they remain open to public use by foot or motor vehicle. Whether or not this is actually possible is another question! A few of the roads shown are quite passable, but that doesn't happen by itself; you can be sure that in each of these cases, someone is suffering the cost of public use.

Road east of Tilton Pond, Fayette. A typical public easement - open to "unfettered" public motor vehicular travel.

Folsom Road, Fayette. Another typical public easement, open to "unfettered" public motor vehicular travel. The road is straight ahead.

This is actually a private road, but it illustrates what can happen when there are insufficient funds to keep a road in shape. This culvert washed out on a weekend, leaving a family stranded on the other side, and there were insufficient road association funds to repair it. So the family used what they had on hand to build a makeshift bridge, and posted this sign to warn anyone who might attempt to cross it. Other land owners and friends eventually pitched in to help repair the culvert, so the bridge is no longer there.

STRANDED! They can't get out from their home....

... and no one else can get in.

On a weekend, and with no funds, you use what you've got on hand. Call it Yankee ingenuity.

The finished bridge

A bit scary looking, but it even held up the delivery of a load of hay!

Another public easement after use by a logging operation. Young Rd, Fayette, 1985

This road had been passable by 2 wheel drive the previous fall.

Same public easement

Another view

Heading out from the Young Road house for supplies after the logging operation was done required a comealong and several lengths of chain.

Crank the comealong all the way in, then run the comealong back out, shorten up the chain, and do it again. In some places there weren't many trees left to use as anchor points.

The process had to be repeated in several places along the half mile of road.

Dragging bottom.

Sometimes it took over an hour to go the half mile to the paved road, then the process had to be repeated on the way home.

Up on "solid" ground at last!

The Dearborns in Mount Vernon stand in front of the gate to their driveway. Originally they had built it over the road on the left, Bog Road, under the understanding that the road had been discontinued before 1965 and was therefore their private property. But then the Town informed them that the records had been lost so they had later declared the road to be abandoned under section 3028, making it a public easement. When another land owner took advantage of the maintenance the Dearborns had put into the road, and started using it with his heavy equipment, they were forced to move their driveway over in order to avoid having to maintain the road for his (and the general public's) use.

Bog Road, Mount Vernon, beyond the Dearborns' property. Yes, the road goes straight ahead.

Same spot as above, after the neighbor opened it up as an ATV trail, telling the ATV club he had permission of all the landowners (which was not true.) The DEP quickly shut it down again.

This bog is immediately to the left of the photo above, where the sun is shining through the trees.

Remains of old stone dam on the former Highway F in Farmington. The State didn't know they had discontinued the old road without easement before the 1965 change in the discontinuance law, so they thought they still owned this structure. They planned to tear it down and use the stone in rebuilding a culvert, so they came in and cut down all the trees around it without permission of the landowner. This is one more example of why we need better record keeping when roads are discontinued or abandoned.

THE ROADS BELOW ARE ALL PUBLIC EASEMENTS IN THE TOWN OF FAYETTE UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED

Lower end of South Rd to right, looking south. Road on left mistakenly known as South Road, but actually Pike Road.

Pike Road (Erroneously known as Lower End of South Rd) NOT discontinued, but not maintained.

South Road from Pike Road, looking north - obstructed by pile of dirt

Pike Road, (erroneously known as Lower End of South Rd) NOT discontinued, but not maintained.

South Rd (Pike Rd) on left (looking south), Bog Rd on right - both still Town roads, not discontinued, but not being kept in repair.

South Road (Pike Road) looking north from junction with Bog Road

Bog Road looking west from South (Pike) Road

Bog Road

Entrance to Bog Road from Rte 133 (west) end - note sign: "This road not maintained with public funds. Pass at your own risk."

Bog Road looking east from west end by driveway of house (driveway on right, road on left)

Bog Rd looking east from beyond house

Bog Road continuing east beyond house

Bog Road continuing east

Entry to discontinued King's Highway in Wayne from Berry Rd, looking north towards South Rd, Fayette.

Tilton Pond Road looking South

South end of North Road, looking South from where it crosses Jackman's Mill Rd

William Livermore Rd

Oscar Young Rd

Philip Davis Rd - yes, the road continues straight ahead.

Asa Hutchinson Rd looking southeast

Folsom Rd looking northwest - road is straight ahead

Folsom Rd closer view of No Trespassing sign

Fayette Ridge Road straight ahead

Limberlost Road

Folsom Rd from Twelve Corners end (it goes straight ahead here, not to the right)

Knox Hill Rd continues straight ahead

Myra Brown's driveway road continues straight ahead

Myra Brown's Driveway Rd "obstructed" by car.

Myra Brown's Driveway Rd from Baldwin Hill Rd (road is straight ahead) - obstructed by gate and by pasture fence on far side of field.

Asa Hutchinson Rd looking northwest from Baldwin Hill end

Bamford Pond Rd from Cemetery

Bamford Pond Rd from cemetery (closer view)

Oak Hill Rd looking southeast from cemetery at Sanderson's Corner Road

Oak Hill Rd from house beyond cemetery

Oak Hill Rd from Gile Rd looking west

Oak Hill Rd looking east at Gile Rd, which just shows above the ledge

Oak Hill Rd from Gile Rd looking towards Young Rd

Norton Road from Oak Hill Road looking north

Norton Rd from Oak Hill Rd looking north

Oak Hill Road from junction with Norton Road, looking northwest

Oak Hill Road straight ahead, Young Road to left.

Oak Hill Road looking northwest from junction with Young Road

Oak Hill Road straight ahead, looking northwest from near Young Road, just beyond house.

Oak Hill Road looking northwest from near junction with Young Road, beyond house.

Young Road looking south from junction with Oak Hill Road

Young Road from top of hill, looking south

Young Road looking down south side of hill.

Young Road looking down north side of hill

Surrey Road from north end looking south

Surrey Rd looking south

Lower end of Ed Rose Rd (now called Sullivan's End)

Lower end of Ed Rose Road (now known as Sullivan's End) - road goes straight ahead, not to left.

Lower end of Ed Rose Rd beyond house

Young Road from Richmond Mill Road

South end of Young Road looking north from beyond last house.

Mid section of Young Road looking north

Mid section of Young Road, looking north

Middle of Surrey Road, looking north

Surrey Road looking northerly from beaver swamp

Surrey Road looking southerly near Fayette-Wayne line

Ed Rose Road, Wayne, looking southeast towards Surrey road from near Fayette line, showing erosion in ruts left by a hunter the previous fall.

Ed Rose Road, Wayne, looking back up the rut in the picture above from a bit farther down. This damage was caused by one pass with one vehicle.

Ed Rose Road, Wayne, looking towards Fayette

Continuing down Ed Rose Road towards Fayette

Troubled Bridge over water? Ed Rose Road looking towards Fayette from Wayne.

Ed Rose Road looking back across bridge into Wayne from near Fayette line.

Surrey Road, Fayette, looking northerly after someone drove through in mud season, on or about April 17, 2016. This and the next 14 pictures all taken April 19.