Officials closed Route 232, Route 2 may be next.
RUMFORD – Thanks to two inches of rain and warmer than usual temperatures overnight Thursday, a massive ice jam formed on the Androscoggin River.
Resulting flooding threatened to close a lane of Route 2 just beyond what’s known locally as Half Mile Curve. Flowing swiftly, the rising river had engulfed a stretch of the eastbound emergency lane.
At about 2:30 p.m., Rumford police were forced to close a section of Route 232 between Route 2 and South Rumford Road due to rising waters.
Prior to that, traffic slogged through about eight inches of ice-laden water.
At about 10 a.m. Friday, Oxford County Emergency Management officials reported that the ice jam had formed downstream of the Route 232 bridge at Rumford Point.
The jam, which consisted of large sheets of ice and crumpled, mashed chunks of ice and snow, stretched all the way to the dam in Rumford.
According to a 9:55 a.m. River Flood Statement from the National Weather Service in Gray, Rumford received 2.02 inches of rain Thursday.
“The rainfall, combined with melting snow, has brought river levels up significantly, causing ice cover to break up and move downstream,” said Tom Hawley, the Weather Service’s hydrologist.
Emergency management officials said people living along the Androscoggin River in Rumford should remain alert for rising water.
“There is no way to tell how long these ice jams will remain in place. Do not drive through flooded areas,” Hawley added.
At 3:25 p.m., Hawley said water levels had remained “more or less” constant over the last few hours, but a portion of Route 2 between Rumford Point and Rumford was still covered.
The heavy rains and melting snow created deltas of ice and gravel at the end of driveways along South Rumford Road. Several feet of a shoulder beside the southbound lane of Route 232 was also washed away.
“Decreasing temperatures tonight will reduce runoff, causing water levels to recede,” he added.
However, a mix of rain and snow forecast for Sunday into Monday, could continue flooding worries.
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