FARMINGTON — Every time it rains Sally Buckman wonders if the trees on the riverbank across from her home will go down and take a portion of Whittier Road with them.

“I’m really scared,” she said as she questioned how she would get out if the road collapses as expected before the Sandy River bank stabilization can be done next year.

Buckman voiced her feelings at a meeting of town officials, emergency management and the Maine Army National Guard representatives Tuesday. They were discussing options and construction of a bypass road to avoid the eroding bank across from her home. 

Since Tropical Storm Irene in August 2011, town officials have grappled with a solution to the erosion that threatens a portion of Whittier Road near its intersection with Route 156.

Earlier this year, the town applied for a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant to fund the $227,000 stabilization work. As part of the process, U.S. Fish and Wildlife wants a biological assessment done to determine the affect, if any, on salmon habitats in the river.

The closest habitat is about a mile and half downstream, said Rick Jones who does environmental consulting work as Jones Associates of Poland Spring. He will bring a proposal for the study with a $21,615 price tag to selectmen Tuesday night.

The number of salmon involved is just a handful, but Fish and Wildlife poses the biggest hurdle, he said. 

The assessment amount could be covered with increased grant funds since it was requested for the permit, JoAnn Mooney of Maine Emergency Management Agency said.

The banking is sand and silt that becomes saturated when the river rises. The amount of sand and silt that has already gone downstream is estimated at 20 miles of 10-wheel dump trucks nose to nose, Jones said.

Rains have increased the erosion to the point where the bank is about 30 feet from the road but there is an overhang of about 6 feet where nothing but tree roots are holding the bank up, Public Works Director Denis Castonguay said.

He has the materials to do the stabilization work and a permit granted in just two days by the Department of Environmental Protection but to do any work could jeopardize the federal grant funding.

A three-quarter mile bypass could connect lower Whittier Road to Route 156 by partially using a woods road running behind the homes, Town Manager Richard Davis said. The woods road is about 300 yards from Route 156.

More questions arose as selectmen talked with Mooney, Maj. Scott Lewis from the National Guard, Tim Hardy from Franklin County EMA and Jones.

What constitutes an emergency? Is it 5 feet, 10 feet, road collapse or loss of life? What emergency work can be done without penalizing grant funding? Who makes the decision that it’s an emergency, the town or other entities? Those questions need clarifying, Mooney said.

“In my mind, it’s already an emergency,” Selectman Ryan Morgan said.

“In all our minds,” Mooney answered, referring to those at the meeting.

Lewis was there to see if the National Guard could help. It can do projects that help with training and are economically feasible, he said.

Helping create a permanent bypass sounded cost prohibitive for the Guard but a temporary road, equivalent to a camp road that would provide access from point A to point B and give homeowners access from the back of their properties might be considered.

Morgan questioned whether firetrucks and emergency vehicles would travel a “camp road.” He also questioned whether there were vernal pools and salamanders that could hinder necessary permits for a temporary bypass.

Lewis agreed to walk the woods road with Jones and Castonguay after the meeting Tuesday.

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