Vandals delayed Damariscotta’s Belvedere Rd. culvert replacement project for the second time Thursday night when they shut off the giant pumps that were draining Oyster Creek.
Steve Palmer, the Maine DOT engineer, said the action set the project back by a day.
Contractors were draining the creek to enable them to set two new culverts on a dry, stable foundation.
Once the water was out, they could complete a dam and begin to pump salt water in and fresh water out maintaining a level suggested by state environmental experts.
“Whoever did it, it was counterproductive. We want to work as quickly as possible so we uncover the creek animals for as little as possible time,” Palmer said.
Palmer said the vandals could have serious consequences.
“It’s too bad. They (contractors) are working to try to get ahead of this week’s (possible) big storm. If we get a big storm tidal surge, it could knock all this work down and we could have to start all over,” he said.