Vincent and Barbara Ferrero of 52 Mary Ann Ave. in Salem used to have to park their car on Shore Drive and walk a grocery cart down the rutted dirt road to get to their home.

The Ferreros, who have lived at their home now for 43 years, said the road was so bad they got canceled from AAA service because of having too many tows.

After heavy rains or flooding from nearby Arlington Lake, the road would be so muddy and in such disrepair it was, by all accounts, like quicksand.

“We tried to jack the car up once,” said Barbara, to put some stabilizers under it, “and (the jack) disappeared into the mud.”

Things got scary when emergency crews had to come down the street, too. When Barbara had her first child, the town had to bring a grader to go down the road first just so the Ferreros could get to their driveway, she said.

The Ferreros’ neighbor, David Augusta, hasn’t been living at his home at 37 Mary Ann Ave. for quite as long, but can match the Ferreros in incredible stories about the road’s condition.

“I broke my leg on the street three years ago, stepping in a rut,” Augusta said. “When I was in the ambulance, I fell off the gurney because they hit a rut.”

But now, the residents of the street, along with the adjoined Elsie and Graham avenues, will have no more horror stories to tell about the conditions of their unpaved roads.

After 30 years of trying to get the town to help out with paving their private roads, the town eventually agreed.

“If you come down my street now, it’s beautiful. I mean, what a difference!” Augusta said.

The neighborhood presented Busby Construction of Atkinson with a plaque on Friday, Aug. 8, to thank them for doing an outstanding job on the road repairs, which included improving the drainage, putting up retaining walls, putting down loam on the property edges, tarring driveways and even installing new mailboxes.

“We also want to thank you, the residents, for cooperating,” said Ginny Busby, who owns the construction company with her husband Doug Busby. “Our job is easier when we have the cooperation of all the neighbors.”

Doug Busby said the neighborhood road was about as bad of a road as he’s ever seen. On a scale of one to 10, with 10 being the worst, he rated it an eight.

“When we were bidding the project back in late February, there was probably 8 inches of ice caked on it,” said Doug Busby.

The road was also porous with potholes that went straight through the ice layers and through the dirt below, he said.

Busby construction began the first step of cutting down trees in April, and then put the extra drainage in. As of right now, they are wrapping up their work in the area.

“I can’t believe after 30 years we got what we got,” said Augusta. “These guys had compassion, and they worked as a crew.”