Ben King took his typical commute across the Main Street bridge in Orono to his job at the University of Maine on Monday.
But when he attempted to drive back to his house in Orono, he couldn’t get across the bridge.
King was one of many residents who waited in a 45-minute delay to get over the Stillwater River because construction work has partly closed the Brandon M. Silk Memorial Bridge.
Now he avoids taking the 4.6-mile detour down College Avenue to Stillwater Avenue and down Bennoch Road and instead walks with his wife, Lynn, to get to work.
The Maine Department of Transportation started resurfacing and doing maintenance work on the bridge Monday. It will be closed to southbound traffic until work is done in August. But multiple Orono residents said they didn’t know the construction was happening and weren’t prepared for the detour on Monday, causing long delays that have since gone down.
Lynn King said much of the confusion and traffic could’ve been avoided if the town had told residents before construction started.
“Not knowing ahead of time is what really threw a wrench into most people’s plans,” King said.
Orono Town Manager Clint Deschene said the town didn’t know the Maine DOT would be working on the bridge until June 4, five days before construction began. When the town was told, they tried to let everyone know through the press and on their website.
The detour has also affected the Community Connector, the public bus service that operates in Bangor, Brewer, Orono, Hampden, Old Town, Veazie and the University of Maine. The bus now takes the detour around the bridge, skips two stops on its usual route and leaves 10 minutes earlier.
Despite the detour, several downtown Orono businesses said they haven’t seen a noticeable decrease in customers.
People are just as likely to come to Nest on Main Street, manager Makenna Mutz said. However, the coffee house has seen more orders on DoorDash, Mutz added.
Mutz said many customers talk about how hard it is to get to Nest or are walking to the shop rather than driving. It’s affected employees’ commutes to work as well.
Around the corner on Mill Street, Pat’s Pizza is as busy as it was last summer. Business has slowed down because of UMaine students leaving for the summer break, but Sherry Cunningham, the day manager, said locals have still been coming in regardless of the detour.
