RICHMOND - The Maine Department of Transportation is accelerating its plans to replace a culvert at the Abagadasset River on Alexander Reed Road in Richmond. Rainfall last week caused the exiting culvert to wash out on Friday. The road is currently impassable and will remain closed until the new culvert is built. The detour is currently posted using Routes 197 and 201. On the average day, about 400 vehicles use this segment of Alexander Reed Road.
Before Friday's wash-out, this project was in MaineDOT's Work Plan for late 2023. Construction is now expected to occur this summer and be finished by September. The department plans to replace the twin steel culvert pipes with one, 24-foot-wide concrete box culvert. The estimated cost for all engineering and construction work on this project is $1.2 million.