A section of the Kennebec River Rail Trail in Augusta, left, after it had washed out last year, and the same section, right, after repairs were completed Thursday. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal and Augusta Public Works
AUGUSTA — Final repairs were completed Thursday to a small section of the Kennebec River Rail Trail that had washed out last year.
The Rail Trail, popular with walkers and bicyclists, connects Augusta to Gardiner on a path that runs along a rail line and the western shore of the Kennebec River.
Philip Garwood, chairman of the Kennebec River Rail Trail board of supervisors, said figuring out how to solve the problem took a while and involved several agencies.
Garwood said some material blocked a drainage culvert, causing water to flow across the tracks.
“The erosion got bad enough that it undercut the edge of the Rail Trail, and the pavement broke and started to collapse,” he said. “Erosion only gets worse over time.”
While the Rail Trail board of supervisors is responsible for the care and upkeep of the trail, the problem originated in the railroad corridor, which is owned by Maine Department of Transportation.
Lesley Jones, director of the Public Works Department for the city of Augusta, said last week the state DOT’s railroad division placed stones in the eroded area, and the Augusta Public Works Department cut out the bad section of pavement and then evened and repaved it.
Using a special truck that can dump sideways, employees from the Maine Department of Transportation deliver riprap Thursday as they repair a washed-out section of the Kennebec River Rail Trail in Augusta. Photo courtesy of Augusta Public Works
“We closed it first thing this morning at the wastewater treatment plant in Augusta, and Chris Buck closed it off in Hallowell,” Jones said. “We then texted him to let him know we were done, and he opened it back up again.”
Buck is foreman at the Public Works Department in Hallowell.
Projects of this size are fairly rare on the trail, according to Garwood.
Seven or eight years ago, something failed in the structure of a manhole, resulting in erosion on the trail. The fix was complicated enough that the board worked with the state DOT on the project, which required hiring a contractor to excavate the area to make repairs.
“I’m looking forward to going up the trail sometime on my bike and seeing it finished,” Garwood said.
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