Repairs have begun in downtown Dexter, where the East Branch of the Sebasticook River flooded two weeks ago, damaging two sections of road.
The Town Council voted unanimously last week to spend $79,000 to repair a culvert on Lincoln Street that the raging river tore out, Town Manager Shelley Watson said in an email Wednesday.
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The flooding on the river, which runs through downtown Dexter, including under several businesses, washed out two sections of road on April 15 and 16 when a combination of rain and melting snow raised the river.
On Lincoln Street, contractors have begun cutting trees damaged in the storm and will replace the old steel culvert with two 70-foot-long cement ones, Watson said.
Depending on the weather, they are hoping to divert the river and install the new culverts next week.
The money for the repairs will come from money already budgeted for town road maintenance, which means other paving projects will have to be put on hold, Watson said. The town also is seeking financial assistance from several state and federal agencies but has received no official word yet on the outcome of its requests.
Officials also have yet to decide what will be done to repair a through way in front of the Dexter Historical Society Grist Mill Museum, which was damaged in the flooding. The road, which also was built on top of a steel culvert, was the entrance to the museum and provided access to a municipal parking lot.
Rick Whitney, the museum’s director said the building is stable and the museum, a town-owned property, still is scheduled to open for the season on time in mid-June.
“We really haven’t heard anything. As far the museum is concerned, I think things are still up in the air,” he said.
The council is scheduled to meet again at 7 p.m. May 8.
Rachel Ohm — 612-2368 rohm@centralmaine.com
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