Sawyer Road Redevelopment

The Maine Natural Resources Conservation Program (MNRCP) awarded a $1,590,000 grant to the Towns of Cape Elizabeth and Scarborough in the Fall of 2023 to remove the road from the marsh in an environmentally sound manner. Each town has pledged a cash match of $185,000, which will be primarily used to build turnarounds at the dead ends in Cape Elizabeth and Scarborough as a result of the road removal.

Both municipalities have voted to accept the grant and have also signed a Memorandum of Understanding to work jointly to implement the project. The project contract is currently under review by USFWS, which will be a signatory to the contract as a portion of the environmental remediation work will occur on its land.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The Spurwink Marsh restoration: Sawyer Street/Road removal has been informed by many prior studies that can be viewed on the town website, including the 2015 Cape Elizabeth Sea Level Rise Vulnerability Study, the 2019 Cape Elizabeth Habitat and Culvert Assessment, and the 2019 Sawyer Road Culvert Tidal Study.

WHY ARE WE REMOVING THE ROAD?

• Failing infrastructure: Sawyer Street/Road and the culvert are in poor condition. The culvert is deteriorated. A July 2021 Highway Report from the Maine Department of Transportation describes a minor deflection on the southerly side, corrosion along the bolt line, and holes along the top plate.” The road bed erodes from repeated flooding, and the pavement is in poor condition.

• Infrastructure investment costs. The 2019 Sawyer Road Culvert Tidal Study estimated that replacing the culvert with a climate-resilient concrete box culvert would cost in the range of 2 million to 5.5 million. Replacement of the culvert will not address the chronic road flooding. In order to upgrade the road, 7’ of vertical fill would be required, and a corresponding expansion of the road footprint on the marsh. If road flooding is addressed in an environmentally sensitive manner, the road should be elevated off the marsh – a bridge that would cost millions.

• Priorities. Both communities have experienced significant flooding and road damage. In Cape Elizabeth, Shore Road is a good example of a road that is a higher priority for investment in climate-resilient infrastructure. Scarborough has several roads with higher traffic counts that must be improved to be more climate resilient, most prominently Route One. The decision to remove Sawyer Street/Road is an example of both infrastructure retreat and prioritization of investment in other roads. Removal of the road will relieve both towns of ongoing maintenance costs in a tidal area.

• Restore the marsh. Road removal will directly restore ¾ of an acre of high-value tidal wetland and enhance an additional 62 acres by restoring tidal flows. Spurwink Marsh is part of the Scarborough Marsh Focus area of Statewide Ecological Significance, one of the most important bird habitats in the region.

WHAT TO EXPECT NEXT

Once the contract is signed by all parties, the towns will schedule two stakeholder meetings, one in Cape Elizabeth and one in Scarborough. The stakeholder meetings will focus on updating the public on the project and answering questions. The Cape Elizabeth meeting will also focus on options for how to terminate Sawyer Road, such as including an overlook. The stakeholder meetings will be announced on the town website and are expected to be held in Fall 2024.