Multiple streets in downtown Bar Harbor were still closed Tuesday morning, more than 12 hours after a dump truck bed became entangled in power lines on Cottage Street late Monday afternoon.
The force of the strike and resulting entanglement impacted multiple poles, traffic patterns, and created extra work for emergency personnel in Bar Harbor as people tried to navigate their way out of downtown.
Making matters more difficult, a portion of Cromwell Harbor Road, a normal route for traffic — particularly from The Jackson Laboratory — was already shut down with a detour in place.
Crews were still on scene working at 7 a.m.
As of Tuesday morning, Holland Avenue is closed. Cottage Street is closed at Holland Ave, and West Street is blocked at Eden Street and closed to Bridge Street.
The truck was working at the site of a rebuild for the gas station and convenience store right next to the Bar Harbor municipal building. That building has been demolished and there is a new structure and gas pumps being erected on the site. The site at 99 Cottage Street is an Irving Oil retail motor fuel outlet. In its place will be a retail motor fuel outlet, a 3,500-square-foot convenience store.
“It was the construction site at Holland and Cottage. The dump truck got caught on the line,” Bar Harbor and Mount Desert Police Chief David Kerns said Monday.
It created a ripple effect. The collision impacted lines “all the way up Holland and all the way down on the other side on West Street,” Kerns said.
There was only one dump truck involved, however, wires by/on another dump truck near West Street and Holland Ave led to initial reports of two being involved.
While Mount Desert Street was back open before 6:30 p.m., December 8, other streets are expected to remain closed for a while.
“They are expecting 12-14 hours for the rest of it,” Chief Kerns said Monday evening. West Street and Cottage Street will remain closed until it is safe. “Holland Street is shut down for the duration.”
Versant Power wanted to check the poles along Holland Street, Chief Kerns said. He also advised that there could still be road closures on Tuesday.
Versant representatives contacted by the Bar Harbor Story were trying to gather information about costs and timing at press time.
At least five police officers responded. Bar Harbor Fire Department was on scene for hours maintaining the road closures.
Video taken from the nearby Pathmaker Hotel shows the dump truck leaving the construction site with its dump body in the raised position.
