Maine regulators, Downeast Salmon Federation partner on flood mitigation project
Photo / Courtesy Downeast Salmon Federation
The Addison Road crossing at Bells Brook experiences significant roadway flooding.
The Department of Marine Resources has a $9 million project planned to support flood mitigation, restore water quality and improve drinking water and septic infrastructure on Bells Brook, a tributary of the West Branch of the Pleasant River.
The Downeast Salmon Federation is a partner on the project, which is funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Transformational Habitat Restoration and Coastal Resilience Grants program, according to a news release.
The work will focus on improvements to Addison Road in Columbia where it crosses Bells Brook, a structure that is in critical condition, according to the Maine Department of Transportation. The crossing experiences significant roadway flooding.
The crossing of two metal culverts, with a combined opening width of about 12 feet, would be replaced with a 70-foot-wide crossing. The road on either side would be raised by six feet to address current and future flooding conditions.
The Downeast Salmon Federation will relocate wells and septic systems that might be impacted now or in the future by saltwater intrusion. Since the West Branch and Bells Brook are both subject to tidal influences, the work is expectedto benefit the health of downstream habitats that support municipal intertidal shellfish resources.
The rebuilt crossing is expected to allow for future upstream passage and increased nursery habitats for recreationally and commercially valuable fish species such as rainbow smelt, American lobster, groundfish, sturgeon and shellfish.
“While this project individually does not restore passage or tidal flow, it is being constructed in a way that will allow for future fisheries and tidal salt marsh restoration,” said Sean Ledwin, director of the Department of Marine Resources’ Searun Fisheries and Habitat Bureau.
Work is scheduled to begin this fall and conclude in the fall of 2027.
See a related story:
Downeast Salmon Federation receives $9.1M grant for dam removal in Cherryfield
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