Seawall Road Closure Brings an Empty Memorial Day Parking Lot and Continued Hopes for a Solution, Public Hearing May Be in June
MAY 28, 2024
MOUNT DESERT ISLAND—Charlotte’s Lobster Pound was offering two for one lobsters on Memorial Day and for the first time in years, there weren’t many takers.
She posted a Facebook photo and caption that read, “Poor John playing to an empty parking lot. Wow! I was busier on my very first day, thirteen years ago. This road closure is going to destroy us all.”
The Seawall Road links Southwest Harbor to the Bass Harbor Head lighthouse, popular trails (Wonderland and Ship Harbor), and Acadia National Park’s Seawall campground and picnic area. To get to those areas, people have to detour through Tremont, which can take 25 minutes or more.
According to Southwest Harbor Town Manager Marily Lowell, Town Manager of Tremont Jesse Dunbar has been approached by a contractor who would just open the road for them. “They’d just do it.”
They both field calls about the road every day, she said.
The problem that prevents a kind contractor from “just doing it” is that the road isn’t controlled by Tremont or Southwest Harbor. And Acadia National Park has issued the Maine Department of Transportation a permit to change things.
MDOT Director of Communications Paul Merrill said Tuesday morning, “We’re continuing to work with stakeholders and plan to present several options at a public meeting in June. We’re working to schedule that right now.”
June might not feel soon enough for some local business owners.
The road was one of many that washed out in the January storms that caused damage throughout Mount Desert Island. In February, the park issued a permit to Maine DOT to rebuild the road. That permit also allowed the road’s footprint to be widened. The road washed out again. It has not been widened or rebuilt. The permit still stands, park officials said Tuesday.
“I think it’s the lack of information that leads to people making up stories,” Deputy Superintendent of Acadia National Park and St Croix International Historic Site Brandon Bies said. Those stories include who is responsible, what is holding up the road’s reopening, and plans for that rebuild.
On Tuesday, Bies handed out copies of a letter to Maine DOT that he sent a month ago. “We met with them twice in April. We’ve been waiting to hear from them for what they want to do.”
“It’s out of our hands,” Lowell said.
Bies told Lowell and Dunbar, “We recognize how incredibly impactful it is.”
“The road could be temporarily opened for this season. Yes, it would wash out if there’s another storm. Is the park in any way opposed?” Dunbar asked Bies.
“We’ve received zero proposals,” Bies responded.
Dunbar said that three weeks ago he and Lowell heard from Maine DOT that there would be a public meeting about the road. That meeting has not been scheduled.
“They’ve had since March 10. It’s approaching three months, and they haven’t even had a public meeting,” Dunbar said.
“They could come in tomorrow and rebuild the road with more reinforcements than they currently have,” Bies said. “I understand that they need to be deliberate in making these decisions.”
“Nobody’s opposed to them taking their time and figuring out the correct permanent (solution),” Dunbar said, but a temporary two-day fix could relieve some local frustrations.
The road is open to some of the businesses at the end. However, some language on websites, GPS routes, and even town signs can deter business. Acadia National Park is looking to change its language so that people know that businesses can still be frequented. The towns are also doing similar things with physical signs.
Nearby, the Seawall picnic area is open, but the parking lot is not.
LINKS TO LEARN MORE
https://www.facebook.com/SawyersLobsterPound
Park Closure List and information about Seawall
Is a Coastal Road in Acadia That Keeps Washing Out Worth Saving?
ABOUT US AND YOU.
Corrections: Due to way too many stories (and my paying job), my brain broke here in both the headline and the dateline (that first word in the story). Those have both been corrected. Thank you to everyone for letting me know!
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