Belvedere Road is scheduled to be closed from Aug. 4 to Sept. 4, so workers can replace two 12-foot wide culverts carrying Oyster Creek into the Great Salt Bay.
Traffic will be detoured during the closure.
The $400,000 state-funded project will replace the two steel culverts that are failing because of the strong tidal surge and corrosion from salt water, said Brian Luce, the project manager for H.F. Luce Inc. of Anson. The new culverts will be made of aluminum.
Town officials in Newcastle and Damariscotta said they were surprised by the road closing signs appeared on Monday.
“We talked to them three months ago and they said it would happen, but we were surprised it was to begin next Tuesday,” said Damariscotta Town Manager Greg Zinser.
Not so, said the contractor’s project manager.
We sat down in May in the Damariscotta town office and talked out the project,” Luce said.
Oyster Creek is the boundary between Damariscotta and Nobleboro.
Motorists will have to detour for about four miles to avoid the construction project.
Luce said drivers from the North will be directed to take Rt. 1 to Central Street, to Morgan Hill Road to Bayview Road and back to Belvedere Road. Going the other way, the route will be reversed, he said. He promised the detour will be well marked.
“The contract calls for a 30-day road closure. We hope it will be less,” Luce said.
