SWANS ISLAND, Maine — The winter storm that hit the state earlier this month is still impacting hundreds of Mainers.
“There was ice buildup on the conduit that houses some of the electrical wirings at the transfer bridge on Swan's Island,” Paul Merrill, director of communication with the Maine Department of Transportation, said.
"The ice pulled the conduit from the structure, exposed some of the wirings, and it got damaged," he said, describing the damage done to the Swan's Island ferry transfer bridge during a recent storm. "Essentially, it cut the power to the transfer bridge."
Merrill said workers are able to use a drill to manually operate the bridge, but it's a time-consuming process. Some island residents have reported it takes 30 minutes for the ferry bridge to be raised with the drilling method.
The ferry is only running two times a day instead of its typical schedule of four or five daily trips between Swan's Island and Bass Harbor.
“That’s a big help but not for everybody,” Sonny Sprague, chairman of the Swan's Island select board, said. “We have people [that need to work on the mainland]. They can’t do it.”
NEWS CENTER Maine spoke with Sonja Philbrick who lives on Swan's Island but works as a teacher in Southwest Harbor on Mount Desert Island. She depends on the ferry to get to work every day.
“I have to be at school by 8 a.m., and this [schedule] wouldn’t get me to school until 9:15 a.m.," Philbrick said, describing the personal impact of the limited ferry service. "I've had to move to the mainland, which I don’t like doing because of COVID. I haven’t visited the mainland much at all.”
Merrill said similar issues have happened in the past and are to be expected.
“It shouldn’t be a surprise to anybody that mechanical operations, electricity, don’t always love the winter weather in Maine or being exposed down at the waterfront any time of year,” Merrill said.
Merrill also told NEWS CENTER Maine that the materials needed for the repairs to the bridge's electrical equipment had been delayed. The delays were the result of supply chain issues. Since the materials have arrived, contractors were expected to begin work Sunday, and the ferry should return to its normal schedule by the end of the week.