U-TURN: Penobscot officially opens new bridge with a party

Officials host free cookout for town that adapted to a 30-day closure of a major road

Bayview Road was blocked, but only momentarily, on July 12 while officials cut a ribbon to officially mark the Mill Creek bridge opening. Photo by John Boit.

July 14, 2026

By John Boit

PENOBSCOT — Officials in Penobscot held a party to commemorate and officially open a new bridge at Mill Creek on July 12.

The rebuilt bridge now sits four feet higher than the old one, with a much larger culvert underneath. The project closed Bayview Road for a month in April. The project effectively cut the town in half, forcing a 21-mile detour, although locals adapted in creative ways to the major inconvenience.

At the July 12 celebration, select board chair Harold Hatch thanked all involved in the project, including construction workers, engineers, neighbors and local businesses.

Under sunny skies and while volunteer firefighters briefly stopped traffic one last time at the bridge, select board members cut the ribbon to officially mark the reopening. Afterward, the town treated attendees to a cookout supplied by Northern Bay Market, one of the businesses that Hatch said lost significant revenue as part of the project, complete with a cake that was cut with a machete.

While the bridge has been completed, passersby will continue to see students from Maine Maritime Academy monitoring vegetation and water flow as part of a project of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Coastal Resilience Fund. The monitoring will continue for two years.

Photos by John Boit.

Dozens of Penobscot residents showed up for the bridge reopening, which featured a free cookout and celebratory cake, cut by select board chair Harold Hatch. Photo by John Boit.

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