Brunswick breaks ground on 11,000-foot water main to Bay Bridge Estates

Pipe crews are breaking ground on an 11,000-foot water main extension along Old Bath Road in Brunswick, a project the town says is intended primarily to connect Bay Bridge Estates to municipal water. The Town of Brunswick is leading the effort with partners including Cumberland County and the Brunswick-Topsham Water District; the 11,000 linear feet equals roughly 2.08 miles of new main.

Town Manager Julia Henze told the Town Council that while the Old Bath Road water line “was completed in September, crews did not finish connecting residents to the Brunswick-Topsham Water District by the time cold weather hit.” The incomplete connections left households dependent on an aging well system at the mobile home park, prompting the current extension to Bay Bridge Road and Bay Bridge Estates.

Legacy Communities, the owner-manager of Bay Bridge Estates, installed new submeters on all homes over the summer as part of the connection work but ran into winter damage. In a prepared statement, company president Andrew Fells said the project “experienced ‘meter breaks and a drop in water pressure’ with freezing temperatures this month.” Fells added, “Our team quickly assessed the situation and we coordinated with construction crews and vendors to locate and repair the leaks, and arranged for the Brunswick Fire Department and an additional vendor to bring in water.”

Those emergency measures were followed by an expedited switchover to town water: the company “expedited the connection to town water, hooking households up on Tuesday,” restoring service to affected units. The shortage and emergency response have had acute safety implications for residents of the park; neighbors Centineo and Giasson warned the situation “makes them worry about the safety of older residents and others who are vulnerable.” Centineo said, “I have two 90-year-old parents with me. That takes extra care; it takes extra water.”

Construction on Old Bath Road will create traffic impacts. An Instagram post announcing the work stated, “Pipe crew is breaking ground on a 11,000 LF water main extension on Old Bath Road in Brunswick. Traffic will be reduced to alternating one way.” Motorists traveling between Cook’s Corner and the Thomas Point area should expect delays where crews operate.

The new main sits within a broader municipal planning context: Old Bath Road is the only crossing of Route 1 for some neighborhoods, and the Old Bath Road bridge “contains no bicycle or pedestrian facilities,” a longstanding concern for Maplewood Manor and Bay Bridge Estates. Town planning documents also outline parallel Complete Streets work on Perryman Drive and Allagash Drive that will affect pedestrian and bike connections in west Brunswick.

If construction proceeds as posted, the 11,000-foot extension will link Bay Bridge Estates to the Brunswick-Topsham Water District supply and aims to resolve the mobile home park’s longstanding well problems. During construction, residents should anticipate alternating one-way traffic on Old Bath Road and ongoing coordination among the Town of Brunswick, Cumberland County, Brunswick-Topsham Water District, and Legacy Communities.