SEARSPORT, Maine — The remnants of tropical storm Philippe brought torrential rain to Penobscot Bay this past weekend, heavily damaging a key infrastructure project in Waldo County.
The renovation of roughly 2 miles of U.S. Route 1 in the town of Searsport will be set back by one to two weeks following a washout of the road and flooding of the drainage system in place.
“It worked progressively north and worked down the slopes of [Route 1] and knocked out a couple of areas that we had just run drainage in,” Brian Howard said Sunday.
His firm, Gordon Contracting, was selected by the Maine Department of Transportation to undertake the $17.8-million project.
Howard doesn’t predict that costs will increase because of Saturday’s deluge, but he said the renovation plan will be altered in the coming days.
“It’s a lot of damage up there, and that’s going to take some work and probably add a week or two fixing up there," Howard said.
The extensive washout was likely the result of two factors: old culverts that hadn’t been replaced and stretches of road that are awaiting a new sheet of asphalt. When struck with rain falling at several inches per hour, which was recorded nearby on Saturday, the work site was vulnerable to collapse.
Still, the delays haven’t soured locals on the project, which many see as essential.
“The storm drains and the road construction has been long overdue and desperately needed,” Josh Ramsey, who drives through the area often, said Sunday.
"It’s definitely a necessary project," local Welsey Norton added. "And like any construction project, it takes time."
According to officials at MDOT, Route 1 in Searsport has been reopened to traffic after the washout. The Agency and Howard predict the renovations will be complete before the end of 2025.