Newport honored for river restoration project

NEWPORT – The first phase of Newport’s river restoration project, the centerpiece of downtown Newport’s revitalization, has received prestigious honors from the Maine chapter of the American Council of Engineering.

Matt Bernier, the Kleinschmidt Associates engineer in charge of the project, presented the Newport selectmen with a plaque Wednesday night recognizing the outstanding environmental accomplishment of the river realignment.

Over the course of the summer, the East Branch of the Sebasticook River was rerouted between Center Street and Route 2 to more closely follow its original path. This followed removal of an ancient, cribwork dam under Route 2.

The river is the outlet of Sebasticook Lake and had been moved about 20 years ago to follow a straight path.

The restored river meanders along its original route, curving twice before heading under Route 2. Wildlife is already making the area home.

The engineering award is impressive, said Berner, since “this was a very aggressive competition.”

Bernier was also on hand to answer any questions the board might have about phase two of the restoration, as well as a Maine Department of Conservation grant for additional engineering funds that will be applied for this week.

The grant will seek $17,600 of a $22,000 project to create a wooden boardwalk along the river, taking advantage of the historic significance of two sites, an ancient American Indian site and a historic sawmill location.

“The elevated boardwalk will be a tricky engineering task,” said Bernier, “but not daunting.”

Town Manager James Ricker explained that the town would have to come up with a 20 percent match – just over $4,000 – and that an article requesting those funds will be on the March town meeting warrant.

The grant will only provide funding for engineering and architectural services, said Ricker.

“Next year, we will apply for state and federal funding to construct the riverwalk,” he said.

Ricker added that he has also applied for a $75,000 grant to complete the river restoration north of Center Street to the North Street Dam, which is phase two of the project. This restoration is planned to halt serious erosion along the riverbanks.

The river restoration project is part of a larger plan to create a destination in downtown Newport based on natural locations, such as the river and Sebasticook Lake, that are linked with the history of the location and federally protected sites, such as the American Indian artifact locations.

Bernier told the board that Coplin Associates is creating a master plan for the downtown river area that includes plans for the island in the river and the former canal area.

“These plans will allow for something nice to be happening each year, incrementally,” Bernier explained. “There are some pretty exciting things being discussed,” he added, although he did not elaborate.

A public hearing on the draft plan will be held sometime in January, he said.