All of Freeport’s public roads are open again though repair work continues after last Wednesday’s record-setting rainfall. U.S. Route 1 was narrowed to one lane of traffic Monday to repair a washed out shoulder at Upper Mast Landing Road.

“Our crews worked all through Friday and also half of Saturday fixing shoulder washouts,” said Tammy Morrissey, administrative assistant at the Freeport Public Works Department. Public Works superintendent Earl Gibson was in and out of the office most of Monday, said Morrissey, overseeing multiple work sites.

“The biggest one was at the junction of Route 1 and Upper Mast Landing Road,” said Morrissey. “That’s the one we’re concentrating on now.”

Crews worked through Monday in two units, said Morrissey, one group focusing on repairing smaller roads, and one group working on roads that are more heavily used.

On Thursday, Aug. 14, there were closures on Hunter Road, Flying Point Road at the Brunswick town line, at U.S. Route 1 near exit 24 and Upper Mast Landing Road. Beech Hill Road at Picnic Hill and Cheehaak Road were reduced to one-lane traffic.

Rain totals

There was no major damage to public roads, said Morrissey, but several shoulders washed out as a result of heavy rainfall. Last Wednesday, Portland received 6.43 inches of rain, according to the National Weather Service, a record-breaking rainfall up from a historic high of 2.38 inches.

“We got almost 6 inches of rain (in Freeport) within a couple hour window,” said Morrissey. “There were shoulder washouts and closures in our neighboring towns, Falmouth, Portland, Brunswick — roads just aren’t normally prepared for that sudden amount of rainfall.”

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