DOT WILL FIX BROKEN SEAWALL ROAD IN SPRING

Jul 15, 2024

SOUTHWEST HARBOR—The MaineDOT has decided to repair the broken Seawall Road in Southwest Harbor. The repairs are estimated to be between $900,000 to $1 million dollars.

In a July 15 letter to Southwest Harbor Town Manager Marilyn Lowell, MaineDOT Deputy Commissioner Dale Doughty wrote, “We have heard your comments, concerns, and recommendations for how to move forward. We have heard just how important this road is to your communities, and the impacts that the closure has had to date. We have also carefully considered traffic impacts, engineering and environmental concerns, options to improve resiliency, and the financial options available to MaineDOT. In light of this, we have made the decision to move forward with the restoration of Seawall Road, with some additional features to improve the road's resiliency to future storm events.”

The road, which is a state road that runs through Southwest Harbor, to national park land was destroyed in a series of winter storms.

The Seawall Road links Southwest Harbor to the Bass Harbor Head lighthouse, popular trails (Wonderland and Ship Harbor), and Acadia National Park’s Seawall campground and picnic area and it was severely damaged from winter storms. There are business and community connections to the road as well. To work on the road, the MaineDOT had to receive permission from the park.

Doughty’s proposal states that the state would fully repair the road in spring 2025 and add resiliency features.

“To prepare for the likelihood that this road will be damaged again, over the 2024-2025 winter, MaineDOT will enter into an agreement with the Town of Southwest Harbor and the National Park Service that will confirm a joint partnership to address damage from future storm events beyond the 2025 repair,” he wrote.

He also said that if Southwest Harbor and local contractors wish to make a temporary fix for the rest of this summer, “MaineDOT would work with the town to develop an agreement. Southwest Harbor would be responsible for contractor oversight, environmental compliance, and safety. MaineDOT could assist with signage.”

Three local contractors—John Goodwin, BFP Trucking, and Doug Gott and Sons—have said that they would temporarily fix the road. At a meeting with the MaineDOT one resident and business owner threatened a lawsuit.

“There is still much work to do and we are continuing our work and push for a temporary opening this summer, hopefully, thanks to local contractors, we are closing in on making it a reality,” the Town of Tremont wrote in a Facebook post.

Recommendations for next steps include those contractors potentially making temporary repairs to make the road passable, develop agreements between the state and the National Park Service and the Town of Southwest Harbor about the road’s sustainability, and placing Gabion baskets, grout bags, and beach cobble along the ocean side of the road that extend out beyond the pavement, replacing the missing pavement structure, overlaying the damaged section, and replacing a cross-pipe with a larger elliptical pipe.

DOT’s timeline of events via July 12 memo

The memo accompanying the letter suggests the state pursues FEMA funding and also secure a renewed special use permit from the National Park Service to make the repairs.

“I know that many residents of Southwest Harbor and Tremont have been understandably frustrated by the closure of Seawall Road, and that this has been challenging for your towns,” Doughty wrote. “We have heard your concerns. The decision to not pursue an immediate repair of the road was driven by many factors, including but not limited to the level of traffic served by the road, the availability of detour routes, the timing of construction season, the availability of funding, the location's significant vulnerability to climate change, and the need to consider the long-term viability of the roadway and its fiscal impact. I know that this road is important to your communities, and this decision was not taken lightly, but was made as a part of MaineDOT's responsibility to the state to carefully weigh its options in addressing the long-term impacts of climate change on our transportation infrastructure.”