Landowners worry their riverfront property will be flooded after Machias dike removal
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Condition transportation officials are arranging to replace a decades-outdated dike in which Route 1 crosses the mouth of Center River in Machias with a bridge, which will restore the natural tidal stream into Middle River from the adjacent Machias River. But for nearby landowners, it’s an update that arrives with undesired modify.
The bridge would be about 1,000 feet lengthy with a vast span in the middle to allow for the tide to stream beneath. That would let fish passage at present blocked by the dike — anything that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration flagged as a concern.
Federal officials informed the Maine Division of Transportation that any considerable get the job done on the framework, in which both equally Route 1 and the Down East Sunrise Path cross the river, ought to incorporate improved fish passage into Center River.
Middle River winds roughly two miles northwest, beneath Route 192 in Marshfield, from wherever it feeds into the Machias River at the present dike.
That’s not welcome information for waterfront residence owners on the Center River. Some say the elimination of the dike will expose their properties to more substantial fluctuations in the tide, enabling the flow of drinking water upriver and on to abutting homes.
“We have persons who will be considerably and materially influenced,” Invoice Kitchen, the city supervisor of Machias, stated about the elimination of tide-control gates under Route 1. “There is some land that would be flooded.”
At least 1 landowner employs his riverside property as cow pasture and would eliminate that use to the tide, Kitchen claimed. The condition has mentioned it would compensate landowners for these kinds of impacts, but how a great deal will be compensated to them has not been decided, he explained.
MDOT options to keep a general public assembly at 5 p.m. Tuesday, June 28, Machias Memorial Superior Faculty to solicit feed-back from nearby citizens, officials and others about the bridge proposal.
Disregarding the NOAA concerns could jeopardize federal funding for the job, costing condition taxpayers appreciably a lot more to rebuild the dike than it would with federal enable, point out officers explained.
“Based on facts collected to date, a bridge will finest meet the project’s objective and will need to strengthen the structure’s ailment, manage the Dawn Trail, and deliver for foreseeable future rail use,” MDOT officers explained. “A bridge will return tidal exchange upstream of the causeway, strengthening fish passage, and account for predicted sea level rise.”
Jacob van de Sande, a challenge manager with Maine Coastline Heritage Have faith in who has labored with the town on habitat conservation jobs, reported restoring the normal tidal stream up Center River would have substantial rewards.
From an environmental issue of check out, it would make it possible for quite a few fish species, together with guarded Atlantic salmon, to swim up Center River. By drawing more alewives, toddler eels, brook trout and striped bass upstream, there also would be extra fishing opportunities. It would also assist revert the decreased element of Center River to getting salt marsh, which would catch the attention of ducks, he said. Surrounding wetlands could also take in additional flood water as an alternative of funneling the drinking water additional up the Machias River, where it often floods the small segment of Route 1 concerning downtown Machias and the dike, he mentioned.
Van de Sande explained the agricultural relevance of land fronting on the Center River has declined in excess of the a long time, at the exact same time that the value of preserving fish habitat and salt marshes has develop into extra evident.
“I believe that that the perceived adverse impacts to some specific land homeowners are much outweighed by the ecological, recreational and financial gains of this project to the region and the point out,” van de Sande stated. “The bridge will have sizeable gains for public means such as fish, wildlife and drinking water high-quality.”
Aside from the discussion about regardless of whether the movement of the tide under Route 1 really should remain limited, Kitchen area mentioned the city is “ecstatic” about the prepared structure of the road where by it will cross the river.
The condition intends to maintain the row of parking places along the north facet of the causeway, where by folks park to enjoy the check out and where by vendors frequently market make and other local items from their automobiles. The Down East Sunrise Path nevertheless will operate alongside the north facet of the causeway parallel to Route 1. Trees will be planted as a buffer between the trail and the parking location, and a new sidewalk will be constructed together the southern facet of the causeway next to the Machias River, exactly where no these kinds of sidewalk presently exists.
“We’re thrilled with the Route 1 design,” Kitchen area mentioned. “The causeway will be amazing.”
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