Road Conditions Blamed For Traffic Backup on Route 1A Wednesday Morning
Traffic along Route 1A was backed up from Ellsworth to Dedham for part of the morning commute Wednesday.
According to the Hancock County Sheriff's Department, road conditions were to blame for a handful of accidents concentrated in a small stretch of road just past the Ellsworth town line. Calls started to come into the dispatch at around 7:30 AM.
According to folks reporting to the Downeast Maine Road Conditions Facebook Page, vehicles were having difficulty getting up the hill in that area, with many drivers reporting that stretch of 1A from Ellsworth to Bangor as extremely slick and icy, despite salt that had been laid down.
Katie Lynne Eugley was heading into a dentist appointment in Bangor and had even left a half-hour early, expecting delays. She said she arrived 40 minutes late because of the stopped traffic.
"Anyone traveling from Ellsworth to Bangor the roads are still icy in spots especially in the shaded areas. Traffic flow is anywhere between 30 miles per hour and 45 miles per hour. Use caution. They have put salt down. Traffic is at a standstill by the hill before the double lanes in lucerne apparently people are having trouble getting up-and-down the hill."
Authorities say most of the accidents were minor, with no injuries reported.
Emergency and road crews were able to get the area cleared and motorists moving along their way again just before 9:30 AM.
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