FARMINGTON — Selectmen unanimously agreed Tuesday to seek congressional help to expedite a solution for the erosion along the bank of the Sandy River on Whittier Road near its intersection with Route 156.

Town Manager Richard Davis drafted a letter to Sen. Susan Collins’ state office representative, Carlene Tremblay, seeking help in this matter.

Board members agreed to sign and send it but suggested sending the letter to U.S. Rep. Michael Michaud’s office also.

“The Whittier Road is in imminent danger of collapse if we don’t do something,” Davis told the board. “I’m very concerned about it.”

Recent rains in late May and early June have caused additional erosion. The top of the bank now sits within 30 feet of the road, Davis wrote in the letter.

“Recognizing the urgency of the issue, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection issued a permit modification on June 8, 2012 (within two days of the request) to allow for an emergency minor design modification,” Davis wrote.

The town has applied for funding assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. If the town had gone ahead and done the work, it would have been disqualified from receiving that assistance, he said.

Although repairs were designed to avoid permit requirements from the Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife, FEMA requirements require that USF&W sign off on the project, Davis wrote. The Sandy River is a salmon habitat.

“We are aware of the delays that others in the area have experienced regarding response time of the USF&W. Our community cannot afford any further delays, which would leave the town in a vulnerable position, open to potential liability and lawsuits,” Davis wrote.

They, USF&W, are notorious for taking a long time to review, he said of the request for congressional help to expedite the process.

A loss of the road could raise project costs from $227,000 to well over $600,000, he said.

While some may underestimate the seriousness of the situation, Davis said, several school buses, logging trucks and cars use the road daily. The road is used to access Mt. Blue High School.

Emergency services such as fire and ambulances would be delayed as traffic is diverted to Chesterville or Farmington if the road is closed or collapses.

“We may get up some morning and the road will be gone,” said Selectman Dennis Pike.

The erosion began last August following Tropical Storm Irene when a section of the riverbank, 50 feet wide by 300 feet long opposite the Pillsbury Sand Bar, fell.

Chesterville worked with Tremblay as they sought a solution to erosion of the George Thomas Road, Tim Hardy, Franklin County Emergency Management director told the board.

A local oil company has restricted bulk trucks from traveling over the road, he said, suggesting the potential for loss of vehicle and life.

“People are taking notice,” he said.

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