BANGOR DAILY NEWS • April 3, 2026
State reconstruction of the main Deer Isle Causeway, which connects the island to the mainland via Route 15, has finally been funded, but that doesn’t mean the town’s causeway troubles are over. Like the primary causeway, another, smaller causeway linking the island of Sunshine to the rest of Deer Isle is at risk of failing. But this one is owned by the town, rather than the state, so work on it will have to be funded by local taxpayers or grant funds. Walter Kumiega, facilities director for the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts on the island, has been driving over the causeway regularly since 2004 and watches it continue deteriorating as sea level visibly rises. Even on calm days, he said, water sometimes laps at the edge of the road.