Processing Your Payment

Please do not leave this page until complete. This can take a few moments.

August 10, 2022

Jackman culvert failure leads to 143-mile detour

By Bridget Reed Morawski

Maine transportation officials are recommending that the hundreds of vehicles that make their way along Route 6/15 in Jackman instead take a 143-mile detour after a culvert failed and part of the roadway was washed away.

Courtesy / MDOT
On Tuesday, a culvert collapse made Route 6/15 in Jackman impassible.

The failure of the culvert, an 80-foot-long corrugated metal pipe, was caused by two day’s worth of heavy rainfall, and “the upstream shoulder and half of the travel lane have been washed out,” according to an August 9 news release.

Transportation crews will inspect the condition of the remaining pipe once the rainwater recedes to determine when and how they can restore traffic. However, he said that the repair crew was still “dealing with a significant flow of water” as of the morning of August 10.

“Talking to the road crews yesterday, it sounded like we're looking to be able to repair the road, hopefully, by the end of this week,” said Paul Merrill, the transportation department’s spokesperson. However, he noted that “there are lots of variables in place,” including the weather and replacement culvert supply chain availability. 

Nearly 800 vehicles —  mainly trucks —  use the road on an average day, the news release stated. Merrill said that the roadway would be “a gravel surface for a few days until we can get it paved.”

The Maine Department of Transportation suggests instead taking Route 201 to Bingham and Route 16 in Abbot, detailing the route in a Twitter post.

Sign up for Enews

Most Recent

Most Recent

0 Comments

Order a PDF