The Maine Department of Transportation filled in two sinkholes in Veterans Memorial Park in Newcastle Tuesday, Nov. 10.
Newcastle Road Commissioner Steve Reynolds said he believed one of the pipes of the drainage system that runs under the park may have a leak, causing the sinkholes to open.
“I think the bottom line is these pipes have probably reached the end of their life,” Reynolds said.
Reynolds said the first sinkhole opened in the week before the Damariscotta Pumpkinfest and grew to be almost 7 feet deep. A second, smaller sinkhole opened 20 feet away Oct. 30. Since then, the park has been roped off with caution tape and plywood was placed over the holes.
DOT representatives joined Reynolds, Newcastle Town Administrator Lynn Maloney, board of selectmen Chairman Brian Foote, and Veterans Memorial Park Committee member Ellen McFarland for an inspection of the sinkholes Nov. 5.
The Newcastle Board of Selectmen discussed the matter of the sinkholes during its meeting Nov. 9. Foote said the smaller of the two sinkholes, the sinkhole closer to the river, was on private property.
Reynolds said since the Veterans Memorial Park is state property and is above the drainage lines that connect to the Main Street catch basin, both of the sinkholes were the responsibility of the state.
The reconstruction of the drainage pipes is scheduled for 2018, Reynolds said. In the meantime, the DOT decided to fill in the holes Nov. 10 and make the park safe to reopen.
“We’re putting a Band-Aid on it, really,” said George James, a superintendent with the DOT. “It will get us through until there’s a more permanent solution, like maybe replacing the whole system down the line.”
While in Newcastle, the DOT also replaced a grate covering the catch basin on Main Street.
“Over the years, the top of the catch basin has just been pounded on,” James said. “The catch basin itself is OK. It’s just the top that has been driven over by trucks and vehicles that needed to be replaced.”
Reynolds said the park would reopen when the work is complete.
“We just want to make sure everything’s safe,” Reynolds said.
