Mill Creek Project Road Closure Information

• Project Overview: Bayview Road (Route 175) will be closed to traffic for up to four weeks, from April 20 to May 20, to replace a failing culvert and rebuild the road at Mill Creek.

• Reason for Closure: The project will raise the road elevation and install a larger-capacity concrete culvert to reduce flooding during storms and king tides, improving long-term safety and resilience.

• Funding: The work is fully funded by state and federal grants, with no cost to Penobscot taxpayers.

• Community Impact: The closure will divide the town and affect commuters, emergency response, school transportation, and municipal services.

• Detours: Traffic will be rerouted via Route 199 → Route 15 → Route 175 toward Castine.

• School Transportation Plan:

• • The first week of road construction will be during April vacation.
  • After that adjusted bus routes will serve students attending Penobscot Community School, Bucksport High School, and George Stevens Academy.
  • • Bus driver Joyce Cyr will drive students from Castine attending Bucksport High School directly after Adams School drop-off.
    • Ed Wardwell will start his route @ 6:45 on the west side of the Mill Creek project, going down the Dunbar Road and coming back to Castine road, stopping at RH Foster at 7:10 AM to pick up any GSA students. Ed will then go through Orland, across the Gilpin Road, and down through N. Penobscot, arriving at 7:30 at PCS.
    • GSA student will pick up another bus at PCS to take them to Blue Hill while Bucksport High School is providing a van to take students to Bucksport.
    • Ed’s afternoon bus route will start by picking up Bucksport High School students and then will run the reverse of the morning bus route, going through N. Penobscot, Orland, and back through Castine.
    • James Clarke’s bus route will remain the same, except he will be adding the eastern side of Mill Creek, including Pierces Pond Road, to his route.

• Emergency Services:

  • Bucksport Fire and EMS will cover calls on the west side of the Mill Creek project. Castine EMS is also ready to assist with medical calls on the west side.
  • One fire tanker will be staged west of Mill Creek and Castine and Orland Fire Departments will be available to assist with fire calls on the west side. Blue Hill Fire Department is also on-call for fire calls.
  • No burn permits will be issued in Penobscot during the closure.

• Trash services:

  • Bowden’s Disposal will have a truck staged on the west side of the Mill Creek project (Location TBA) on Saturdays. Metal and demo materials will NOT be accepted at this alternate location. Residents will either need to bring those materials to the transfer station via the detour route or hold them until the road is open again.

    

Most of this information has been gathered from public meetings, town meetings, conversations with local officials, and information in the Rising Tide article of 3/25/26. If there are any errors or omissions, please contact me at penobscot04476@gmail.com.