Work on failed embankment to begin in Greenbush

July 6, 2006

 Repairs on a failed section of embankment on Route 2 in Greenbush are scheduled to start this week. The failure of the embankment began with a slowly widening crack on the affected section of the embankment, causing area residents to worry that it was in danger of falling into the Penobscot River. But DOT official Jerry Waldo says that if the affected section of road were not repaired, it would actually just “slide” into the river.  He adds that it’s “hard to judge” how long the repairs will take until work gets underway and it becomes clear what needs to be done. That process will begin with some stabilization work by contractor Lou Silver.

“Basically what happened is that the embankment failed and started to slide into the river,” Waldo said. “Right now, we’ve got soldered poles supporting it. On Wednesday, Lou Silver will start working on stabilizing the embankment by placing rocks at the bottom of the embankment. Once it’s stabilized, we can start rebuilding it.”

            At present, Waldo says, the DOT is concentrating on removing the metal guardrail along the edge of the embankment in order to set up a place from which the crane can work.

            The crack that heralded the start of the embankment’s downward slide first became a focus of attention among Greenbush residents on Friday. The Maine Department of Transportation, which had been monitoring the progress of the fissure, estimated that it had expanded from 1 inch to just over 3 feet between Friday and Sunday. Excessive amounts of rain in recent months have contributed to the situation by weakening the embankment and the road that runs over it.

            Pending the outcome of the repair work slated to begin this week, the affected portion of Route 2 will remain closed to all but local traffic. Greenbush residents who want to know how long that repair work will take may not have an answer for a while.

            “On Thursday, we’ll know a little better how long it will take,” Waldo said. “I don’t know if it will just be a couple of weeks, but I don’t think it will be two or three months, either. It’s a little hard to judge until we get in there and see how much there is to be done.”

            Another problem in predicting a timeframe for the project, according to Waldo, is that “stability experts” say that the repairs made to the embankment may actually cause additional, unforeseen damage.