The Maine Dept. of Transportation (DOT) plans to close Biscay Road in Damariscotta twice over the next two weeks in order to replace a pair of culverts.
The first closure, to replace a culvert at the intersection of Biscay Road and Rt. 32, will begin early Monday morning, Aug. 9. The second, at the corner of Biscay and Headgate Roads, will start a week later.
According to DOT officials, the replacements must take place before DOT paves the road, which they plan to do soon. According to Region Traffic Engineer David Allen, closure is necessary to ensure public safety as well as the safety of work crews.
DOT officials said they hope to finish both projects in under a week’s time, but the period of construction is subject to change. According to Andrea Glidden, the Transportation Operations Manager for Region 2, “We’re not going to know exactly what we’re into until we start the project.”
The culvert near Headgate Road is “rusting through,” Glidden said. “We need to replace it and we want to do that before the road fails.”
The road is not in imminent danger of failing, Glidden said.
According to Allen, detours are planned for both replacements. For the Rt. 32 project, motorists travelling southeast on Biscay Road (from Damariscotta) will turn left onto Turner Road, which leads back to Rt. 32. The detour is 6.4 miles long, an increase of 4.5 miles on the normal distance, Allen said.
For the Headgate Road replacement, vehicles travelling southeast (from Damariscotta) will make a left turn onto Standpipe Road, follow that road until it joins Back Meadow Road, and make a right on Egypt Road, which rejoins Biscay Road beyond the construction. That detour is 4.6 miles long, an increase of 3.6 miles over the normal distance of one mile.
DOT estimates the costs of the replacements at $40,000 and $25,000 for the Damariscotta and Bremen culverts, respectively. Among other factors, DOT bases the estimates on the size and depth of the culverts, Allen said.
About 8-10 years ago, DOT installed a “slip line” in the Damariscotta culvert as an interim measure, Allen said. That structure is failing now, too.
