Rain, snow melt, ice jams close roads

11 years ago

Officials with the Aroostook Emergency Managment Agency (ACEMA) repoted late Tuesday afternoon that they’ve received reports of multiple road closures across the County.
According to Director of AEMA Darren Woods, the majority of the issues are coming from melting snowpack running off into the roads and causing a variety of issues ranging from water in the road to complete washouts of pavement and culverts.
Woods stated that AEMA is sharing information back and forth with Canadian Emergency Measures so that both countries can be better informed on river flows.
Reports have been received by AEMA of three separate ice jams along the St. John River that are currently not causing any problems, as well as of three separate ice jams along the Aroostook River, none of which are causing issues at this time.
“As we move through the next few days we expect to see more of this, and urge the public to drive with caution on all roadways,” Woods said.
“We also caution people to stay away from the ice and rivers as conditions can change rapidly,” he added, mentioning that no amount of water is safe to drive through. “Turn Around, Don’t Drown”.
Current road closures received by AEMA at time of print were:
In Fort Fairfield:
•    Dorsey Road,
•    Forrest Avenue,
•    Strickland Road, and
•    Currier Road.
In Mapleton:
•    Pulcifer Road at TeaKettle Brook, and
•    State Road.
For updated information and photos, visit the Aroostook County Emergency Management Facebook page.