by Sarah Craighead Dedmon

Fourteen options for repairing the Machias dike bridge, ranging from small changes to full removal of the causeway, are outlined in an online public hearing available until April 30.

The Machias dike bridge carries Route 1 and the Downeast Sunrise Trail over the confluence of the Middle and Machias rivers. A causeway has spanned the 1,000-foot gap since 1868, but the current structure was built of timber cribbing, rubble, and dirt in 1930, then widened in 1944.

On average, 8,600 vehicles cross the dike every day.