Question: There is a series of yellow dots, numbered one through 18, painted on the surface of Lowell’s Cove Road between Lane Road and Tree Tops Lane. Why are those dots and numbers there, and what do they represent?
Doug Warren, Orr’s Island
Answer: According to town officials, the numbered dots were painted as part of ongoing climate change resiliency projects in Harpswell, funded in part by grants from the state’s Community Resilience Partnership.
The Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future administers the Community Resilience Partnership, which helps municipalities plan for climate change and reduce carbon emissions.
Lowell’s Cove Road, on Orr’s Island, was identified by the town of Harpswell as one of six major roads that would be vulnerable to 2 or more feet of sea-level rise. The others are Abner Point Road, on Bailey Island; Bethel Point and Dingley Island roads, in Cundy’s Harbor; and Basin Point and Lookout Point roads, on Harpswell Neck.
Identifying necessary improvements to town roads is the second-highest priority in the town’s two-year climate action plan, according to a 2023 grant application. The first is to reduce Harpswell’s carbon footprint.
South Portland engineering firm Gorrill Palmer regularly assists the town with road projects related to climate change resiliency. For example, it authored a 2018 report on how to protect Basin Point Road against sea-level rise.
The firm is responsible for painting the dots on Lowell’s Cove Road, according to one of its engineers.
“The yellow dots on Lowell’s Cove Road indicate where our team shot roadway survey elevations,” explained Gorrill Palmer Project Engineer Ben Shaw. “We use these elevations to create an existing condition profile of the roadway, which helps to evaluate the impacts of sea-level rise.”
J. Craig Anderson, Reporter, Harpswell Anchor
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