Midcoast store loses most of its revenue on Friday after Route 1 closure

The truck crash, which closed a section of Route 1 for half of Friday, also almost completely destroyed a normally busy convenience store in Stockton Springs.

Cutterman’s Variety is located on the section of Route 1 that was closed to through traffic after the accident at 5:30 a.m. The truck was loaded with a wind turbine blade and crashed into a railroad overpass.

Although the busy coastal highway finally reopened late Friday afternoon, Cutterman’s employees said there was an eerie silence for most of the day.

The disruption was particularly noticeable because the store is usually very busy on summer days when thousands of motorists drive up and down Route 1. Instead, drivers had to take detours of 10 to 12 kilometers to avoid that stretch of road.

Employee Summer Woitko noted that the best days at Cutterman’s Variety are very busy, so instead she spent most of Friday preparing food, cleaning her workspace and waiting for time to pass.

“I would say it’s really affecting the store,” Woitko said. “It’s weird.”

Cutterman’s Variety in Stockton Springs faced a significant lack of customers during regular business hours after a truck accident closed a section of Route 1 where the convenience store is located Friday morning. Credit: Sasha Ray / BDN

Almost all of the customers who stopped by the store were firefighters helping to clear the hazard at the accident site about three kilometers away.

“We’re unavailable all day,” said the branch manager, who did not want to give his name. “The diversion starts here and ends over there, so no one comes through here. Hopefully things will pick up again this evening when the diversion is closed.”

One of the few drivers who found his way to Cutterman’s was Mike Misiak, who makes a living transporting boats and delivered a Hinckley yacht from Long Island, New York, to a marina in the Brooksville village of Harborside on Friday.

Misiak’s 400-plus-mile journey was cut short when he reached Stockton Springs around 9:30 a.m. and was unable to take his company-rented truck — and its large load — on the designated detour. A police officer instead told him to camp at Cutterman’s until the detour was lifted.

Mike Misiak was busy transporting a 13-foot Hinckley yacht from Long Island to the Brooksville village of Harborside on Friday when he encountered a delay lasting several hours after Route 1 was closed for half the day due to a truck accident. Credit: Sasha Ray / BDN

Misiak had originally hoped to reach his destination by late morning, but instead found himself still stuck in the parking lot by the afternoon.

“I assume I can go when they tell me to,” Misiak said around 1:30 p.m. “I have an oversized load. There are certain permitted routes. I can’t deviate from the route.”

Misiak noted that this was his fourth hour-long robbery in the past six months, although some of the others have occurred along Interstate 95 in the Carolinas.

“People are impatient and cause accidents. They don’t want to wait for the trucks. They cut everyone off. Accidents happen. The highway is closed,” said Misiak.

However, Misiak and the workers at Cutterman’s realized there wasn’t much they could do during the closure except remain patient.

“My opinion on that?” Misiak shrugged. “It’s part of the job.”

Midcoast store loses most of its revenue on Friday after Route 1 closure

ByJasper

By Jasper

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