Earlier this year, Bucksport officials wanted to find a way to keep the popular riverfront walking path open year round. The mile-long stretch of bricks that runs parallel to the Penobscot River and Bucksport’s downtown is a hit with walkers, and the town wanted to get even more people out in the colder months.
But the town ended up discovering that some portions of the walkway are increasingly in danger of erosion. A report on the walkway from earlier this fall found that the path and some of the embankments along the it have been wearing away because of water flowing down from upland properties, stormwater drains and a downspout on the bridge to Verona.
Though it isn’t in any immediate danger of falling into the Penobscot, town officials are pondering how it can bolster the walkway so it doesn’t continue to get worse.
“We’re trying to make sure this walkway is here not just now but in the future for all to use,” said Rich Rotella, who oversees the waterfront path in his role as Bucksport’s community and economic development director.
Built in phases from the 1990s to early 2000s, the walkway sits down from an embankment, south of Main Street. Another embankment on the other side of the walkway is fortified with stone riprap and leads to the river.
A majority of the path is a federal flood zone and some sections have been wearing thin in recent years. Other parts of the path have bricks falling away. One of the worst portions is on a small point that juts into the river behind an apartment complex.
“You can still walk around it,” Rotella said. “But we’re losing brick, we’re losing earth, we’re losing rip rap.”
In another area near the bridge that connects Bucksport and Verona, the path and the riverbank have been worn down significantly. That, according to the report, is due to a downspout on the bridge that drops water directly onto the pathway and embankment from several feet in the air.
Rotella said that the town has known about some of these issues and has been putting in smaller riprap regularly to stabilize the bank.
But GEI Consultants, which undertook an assessment of the walkway earlier this year, suggested the town try to mitigate stormwater that flows over the walkway as well as raising the path up.
The consultant also suggested planting more vegetation along some of the embankments in an attempt to make them more resilient.
The town hasn’t settled on a course of action yet, but its waterfront committee recommended that the Town Council hire a surveyor and approach a landowner along the water near the point. The council will likely take this up later this year.
Any work on the path could take several layers of permitting, including approvals at the local, state and federal levels.