A fire truck on its way to a brush fire rolled over on their lawn, pinning the driver inside. A station wagon smashed the landowners’ mailbox and stopped 15 feet from their house. A 75-year-old maple tree by their mailbox still bears a scar from when a car skidded off the road and crashed into it.

Woolwich residents Dr. Richard and Esther Leck have seen 14 accidents occur next to their Mountain Road home since the early 1970s, and now they want to relocate a portion of the road away from their home, for their own safety and for the safety of the public. They own both The proposed project will cost the town nothing, according to the Board of Selectmen and the Lecks, but Woolwich by-laws require a town vote.

The selectmen will hold a public hearing on the matter at the Old Town House on Old Stage Road on Monday, June 18 at 6 p.m. - The Lecks, who have already paid Bath-based Pine Tree Engineering to draw up the plans, have offered the road straightening project as a gift to the town.

Before they investigated the possibility of moving the road, the Lecks took some precautionary steps over the years to try and protect themselves. The town installed guardrails after a pick-up truck drove off the road and tottered on the precipice over Bailey Brook. Leck built a stone wall and planted trees on his family’s property after a red Saab hatchback rolled over in the field by his family’s house. After the station wagon mowed down their mailbox, Leck installed a granite post as a base for the new mailbox and placed several boulders on the embankment in front of their house.

The road commissioner put up signs, which Leck says most drivers choose to ignore.

“I’m afraid to mow my lawn in the summertime,” Leck said during a telephone interview a few weeks ago, before he was certain they would want to initiate such an expensive project. That he sees people driving while talking on their cell phones is just part of what makes him nervous about the rush of traffic by his family’s home. “This is the de-facto by-pass for Wiscasset.”

Leck said a lot more people are using the road than in years past, especially since the new bridge in Bath was constructed. He said he can sit outside in the summer and count as many as 350 cars passing by in an hour’s time; that’s six cars per minute.

The Lecks offer three primary reasons for why the road that travels through their property is a public safety hazard.

The sharp curve in front of their house is at the bottom of a steep hill and vehicles pick up speed descending the hill before losing control at the curve. -Drivers resist slowing down for the curve in order to gain momentum to climb the next hill after Baily Brook.

Negative banking, a sloping away from the road’s center at the curve, is designed for water drainage. This causes vehicles to tilt to the road’s outer edge and often drivers overcorrect a skid and land in the Leck’s yard. -Leck states the project is designed to meet Maine Department of Transportation standards. It includes an additional 200 feet of guardrail on the east side of the roadway by Bailey Brook and its base will be “considerably more stable since the materials used will meet DOT standards and will be properly compacted,” saving the town money in maintenance costs.

Road Commissioner Jack Shaw said he was pleased with the Lecks’ decision to hire Harry Crooker and Sons to be the project contractor. Chairman of the Selectmen David King said he was pleased to see the additional feet of guardrail at the bottom of the hill in the plan. Selectmen have been supportive of the project since Leck proposed the plan several weeks ago.

The selectmen agreed to put the plans at the town office for public inspection. More details about the proposed project will be revealed at the public hearing.

A special town meeting to vote on the project will be held at the Woolwich Municipal Building on Monday, June 25, at 6 p.m.

If the project is approved, the Lecks expect construction will begin sometime between July 1 and Oct. 1.