September 21, 2024
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Crews repairing storm damage in Acadia

BAR HARBOR -Maintenance crews at Acadia National Park continued to work Tuesday to repair damage caused by the heavy rains last weekend.

The Bar Harbor area received more than 7.6 inches of rain during the storm spawned by the remnants of Tropical Storm Hanna. It caused flooding and numerous washouts throughout the park, particularly on the dirt paths such as the Ocean Path along Ocean Drive and throughout the extensive carriage road system in the park.

The most serious washout was on the Seal Cove Road, a gravel road that connects Southwest Harbor with Pretty Marsh, where a section of road about 80 feet long was washed out, in some places to a depth of about 4 feet, according to Ranger Richard Rechholtz.

The Seal Cove Road remained closed to traffic Tuesday and was likely to remain closed for several more days, Rechholtz said Tuesday.

The road is used by park visitors and by local commuters as well, he said.

The washouts forced park officials to close areas of the park while repairs are being made. A number of carriage trails were closed while repairs were being made.

“It’s not only a safety issue from the washouts, some of which were 2 to 3 feet deep,” he said, “but we’ve got a lot of heavy equipment up there, backhoes and graders, and dump trucks driving in and out.”

Some areas, he said, were closed only to bicycles and horses, but remained open to walkers and hikers.

By Tuesday afternoon, the crews had made repairs to the Eagle Lake, Witch Hole, Day Mountain and Bubble Pond sections of the carriage trails, and they were reopened. Crews were working on a section of carriage trail near Jordan Pond and hoped to have it open by Wednesday morning, Rechholtz said.

The heavy rain also flooded the cellar at the Jordan Pond gatehouse, but did not cause any damage, Rechholtz said.

“It didn’t get up over the furnace,” he said. “We were able to get some pumps in there.”

Officials have not made an estimate of the damage and Rechholtz said some of the more remote sections of the park have not been checked for damage yet.

rhewitt@bangordailynews.net

667-9394


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