Route 11 at Portage Lake was shut down for several hours early Monday morning after a pickup truck struck a utility pole and a tractor trailer became entangled in the wires.

Maine State Police say 47-year-old Bruce Theriault of Fort Kent was driving his Ford pickup south on Route 11 around 3:30 a.m. when he lost control and went off the road. The pickup struck and broke a utility pole in the parking lot of Dean’s Motor Lodge. This caused the utility wires to hang down across the roadway, according to Corporal Chuck Michaud.

A short time later, 55-year-old Jeffrey Jandreau, also of Fort Kent, drove his tractor-trailer into the wires. Police say Jandreau was able to come to a stop before any more damage was caused, however, the tractor became entangled in the wires.

Route 11 was closed for about 3 hours while Emera Maine worked to replace the pole and untangle the truck from the power lines.

Local traffic was rerouted through the parking lot of Coffin’s Store while the crews worked on the scene, Michaud said. Larger, commercial motor vehicles could not fit through the parking lot and had to park and wait or turn around and seek an alternate route.

State Police believe Theriault was driving too fast for the road conditions.There were no injuries in the crash. Both drivers were wearing seat belts.

The Portage Lake Fire Department directed traffic at the crash site Monday morning.

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