Brownville declares state of emergency | News

BROWNVILLE, Maine (NEWS CENTER) -- As crews worked to fix damaged roads and railways caused by a flash flood after Saturday nights storm, Brownville town officials declared a state of emergency for the area.

Town Manager, Matthew Pineo, announced this afternoon that damages caused by the flooding are already estimated to have reached $200,000. He has asked motorists to avoid the area due to more rain that is expected for tonight and into tomorrow.

After crews from the Maine Department of Transportation worked around the clock Sunday and into Monday, all roads that were closed, except for some areas of High Street, have been open to one lane traffic for the use of residents and construction workers only. According to MDOT Transportation Crew Supervisor, Dennis Amero, repairs could be finished as early as next week, but crews are still asking non-residents to avoid the area. "With a lot of work going on like that it would delay the progress if we were to open them up right at the moment. So that's why we're keeping them closed," said Amero.

The folks at the Maine, Montreal, and Atlantic Railway who manage the railroads in Brownville still have a lot of work ahead of them. Water run off has washed out the gravel bases at 17 different railway locations according to President of the MMA, Robert Grindrod. Trains are not running from Bangor south, and Millinocket north because of those damages, the extent of which Grindrod hasn't seen in his 10 years as president. "This is far worse than anything we've seen," said Grindrod. "Things like this happen, but not to this extent, and not as wide spread."

Governor Paul LePage will be visiting Brownville tomorrow to assess the damages there