Cheryl Page has lived off the River Road in Windham for many years, and she is sick of the potholes, of the plow clanging on the uneven road, and of watching other roads receive state money to pay for repairs.

“A lot of people travel this road. We need this road fixed,” said Page, who has in just a week collected 800 signatures on a petition that will be sent to the Maine Department of Transportation asking that the road be reconstructed.

The petition, which was given to Page by state Rep. Gary Plummer, R-Windham, is one of the ways Windham officials and residents are trying to draw attention to the plight of the River Road. The 10-mile stretch connecting Windham to Westbrook was set to be repaired using state money in 2004, but the reconstruction was canceled due to lack of available money, and the project is no longer a state priority. Windham officials are now banking on the federal stimulus package to bring some measure of relief to the battered road.

Windham’s Legislative delegation – Plummer, Rep. Mark Bryant and Sen. Bill Diamond – told the Town Council last week the project should be front-and-center when the state begins deciding how to spend the roughly $180 million in money for transportation projects the state is expected to receive as part of the $787 billion stimulus bill.

“Certainly reconstruction of a major road like the River Road is something we are going to push for,” said Diamond. “If there is money for something, we want to make sure there is money for the River Road.”

Supporters of other road projects are likely to have similar ideas, the legislators said, so competition will be fierce. It will be difficult for any one project to stand out, said the delegation, which has already sent a letter to the Department of Transportation on the importance of the road. Town Manager Tony Plante is working on a letter to be sent on behalf of the Town Council, and they will look for support from the communities to Windham’s west that have residents who use the road and may have interest in backing the project.

“We need to keep the River Road in front of the DOT,” said Plummer. “We need to make our case beforehand so they don’t forget the River Road is there.”

The federal money will have plenty of strings attached, including strict accounting of where it is spent, when the project will start and finish, and how many jobs will be affected, Diamond said.

“It has to be shovel-ready. It can’t be a projected use. It is going to be imperative that we get into position to meet those guidelines as soon as we know what they are,” said Diamond. The guidelines are expected to be finalized by the end of February, he said.

If the work is going to be completed on the River Road, the stimulus money may be the town’s best bet.

Town Manager Tony Plante said he left a recent meeting with state transportation officials disappointed at their view of the River Road as a solely local issue. The state officials felt, according to Plante, “if Windham wants it built, then Windham should help pay for it.”

That stance is quite different from the one that put the River Road project on the top of the state’s list for funding in 2004. Budget problems that year led to the cancellation of road projects altogether. When it did not reappear on the list, Plante and others were left disappointed, and mystified.

“It went away, then it fell to the bottom of the list,” he said, likely because the state downplays the River Road’s use as a regional spur and alternate to Route 302.

“I feel very strongly that River Road – even though it is an unnumbered state road – is part of the state’s transportation network and does play a vital role in the regional transportation network and should go back on the list,” Plante said.

Because money is tight and competition is heavy, the town may have to lower its expectations for the reconstruction, Diamond said. Councilors should formulate a backup plan that calls for repair of the worst parts of the road, he said.

“There are some portions that are worse than others,” Diamond said.

If they have to cut it down, Page suggests at least reconstructing the portion from Windham Center Road north to the Masonic Hall, about a 1.5-mile stretch. It’s the worst part, she said, not that you can tell the difference some days.

“It’s crowning. It’s pulling away from the side,” Page said. “When the plow comes down the road, you can hear it. It’s not hitting all the road. It’s very dangerous in the winter.”

Page scoffs at the idea that it is only Windham residents using the River Road. As a clerk at the Puffin Stop at the corner of River Road and Route 302, she is privy to a lot of people’s driving habits.

“River Road is probably traveled in the morning more than Route 302 because there is only one light. It’s a major thoroughfare,” she said.

That might not continue if nothing is done to the road, Page added.

“A good percentage of my customers don’t take that road now. They take the long way around,” she said.