WATERVILLE — Silver Street was closed to traffic early Wednesday morning at the intersection of Spring Street after part of an aging tree fell, taking down power lines on the road.
A traffic hazard was reported a little before 5 a.m. near 43 Silver St., according to Deputy Chief Charles Rumsey, of the Waterville police.
“The lines down took out power to the sets of traffic lights at Spring, Silver, Elm and Western streets,” Rumsey said. “The Fire Department notified the (Department of Environmental Protection) because a transformer came down with the tree and resulted in some fluid from the transformer draining into a storm drain.”
DEP crews took care of the leak at the scene, Rumsey said.
Workers from Waterville Public Works, Central Maine Power Co., Time Warner Cable and tree removal company Arbor Technology all were at the scene Wednesday morning after part of the tree came down early in the morning. While there was significant rainfall through the night, when the tree was reported down, it was relatively calm, Rumsey said.
The road’s temporary closure complicated an already congested traffic pattern, with parts of Appleton, Main and Common streets all closed off because of the Taste of Waterville event. Silver Street was reopened about 2 p.m.
“It was a little bit congested around downtown today because of the road closures and the Taste,” Rumsey said, “but I drove around in the afternoon, and it seemed to be flowing.”
Jesse Scardina — 861-9239
Twitter: @jessescardina
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