PORTLAND, ME – The U.S. Coast Guard Cutters SHACKLE, BRIDLE, and TACKLE will begin breaking ice on the Kennebec River on March 17, 2008. The cutters will break ice from the Carlton Bridge in Bath, ME and clear the river as far north as the Richmond Dresden Bridge by the 24th.
The Coast Guard strongly urges ice fishermen, snowmobile riders, and any motorized vehicles on the Kennebec River to stay off of the area from the Richmond Dresden Bridge area south to Bath, including Merry Meeting Bay. Ice in these areas will be hazardous as the cutters break and move the ice floes down river and out to sea.
The ice breaking efforts are helpful to flood relief on the Kennebec River and will continue North to Gardiner, ME after March 24, 2008.
The Coast Guard has been coordinating the State and local emergency authorities since 2000 to help manage potential flooding.
