Recent flooding causes brief road closures
Staff photo/Kathy McCarty
BRIDGE TEMPORARILY CLOSED — The Route 1A bridge across the Aroostook River in Fort Fairfield was temporarily closed on March 22, due to rising water pushing ice against the bottom of the structure.
By Kathy McCarty
Ice jams late last week on the Aroostook River between Washburn and Fort Fairfield resulted in a few traffic delays, due to flooding on a couple roadways.
Staff photo/Kathy McCarty
ICE WAS THE ONLY THING DOCKED at the boat launch at Thomas Brewer Park in Washburn on March 22. The Aroostook River was free-flowing here on Thursday, once ice jams washed ashore.
In Washburn, a section of the Parsons Road Thursday was briefly flooded, when slow-moving ice caused water to back up, spilling over a low-lying section of road. This occurred early in the morning. The road was passable shortly after 7:30 a.m.
The end of the Gardner Creek Road, known as Camp Road, in Wade, was also cut off to travelers as a result of ice jams.
Fort Fairfield had a few tense moments as well on Thursday, with town officials ordering the closure of the Route 1A bridge for nearly an hour when rising water forced the ice to wedge beneath the structure. When it appeared the water level had subsided, the bridge was reopened to through traffic.
A TRUCK DRIVER 
made his way cautiously across the Route 1A bridge in Fort Fairfield, moments after the structure was reopened to traffic. Rising water caused town officials to close the bridge briefly due to concerns about ice hitting the underside of the bridge.
Riverside Avenue in Fort Fairfield sustained some minor flooding, as the Aroostook River overflowed its banks, with ice piling up on shore.
No injuries were reported as a result of any of the flooding and only minor traffic issues occurred as drivers had to find alternate routes around affected areas. Conditions were far more favorabl locally, than across the border in Perth-Andover, where record flooding forced the evacuation of several buildings, including the hospital.
Unseasonably warm temperatures last week caused the ice to melt almost a month earlier than occurs normally. The Aroostook River between Washburn and Fort Fairfield is mostly open water now, with an occasional piece of ice from the shore making its way back into the flow.
