Extensive Detour Along Route 1 in Searsport Starts this Week

It's too bad tourist and road work seasons happen at the same time.

It's kind of a cruel irony. The roads tourists use every year to access all of the most glorious parts of our state, are often some of the most abused. The tough part is that the time when tourists are here most, is the only time of year we can also do any earnest work on the roads.

Remember the ongoing project on Route 3 all the way up a few years ago? It was a nightmare for everyone... The people doing the work, the tourist trying to get to Bar Harbor, etc... And of course all the locals that lived there and the businesses that were affected during the process. Eventually it all got sorted out.

This is about to become the case on Route 1 in Searsport.

Starting this week, traffic along Route 1 in Searsport will be detoured around a construction project that begins today. Starting at Savage Road, the closure will extend about two miles down to Station Avenue. A center turn lane is being added, as well as revamping sidewalks and adding new street lamps, etc.

Southbound traffic will soon be moved away from Route 1, to Black Road South, onto Union Street, then to Mortland Road, and finally back onto Rt 1. However, all the northbound traffic will continue along Route 1 as it always has. The Maine DOT hopes this will cause as few delays as possible, according to a press release from the DOT.

The project will go on until weather makes it impossible to continue, and then it will pick back up again in the spring, when an even longer detour will be planned for southbound traffic. The whole project is slated to be wrapped up in June of 2025.

Remember in the 80's when gas was a buck a gallon?