Revere Beach reopens to 2-way traffic

REVERE-Revere Beach sports a new boulevard, sidewalks and parallel parking after 14 months of construction that all but ended this week when contractors reopened the roadway to two-way traffic.State Conservation and Recreation spokeswoman Wendy Fox said new sidewalk light fixtures designed to resemble lighting mounted along the beach nearly a century ago will be installed in the next month and final landscaping and sign installation work will be done next spring.The project?s most prominent addition to the beach is a wide sidewalk extending from Carey Circle where angled parking spaces were once located.The state Department of Conservation and Recreation and contractor D?Allesandro Corporation replaced 1,900 angled parking spaces with 1,650 parallel parking spots along the new sidewalk.City Council President John Powers has spoken with his beachfront constituents in the days since the boulevard reopened to all traffic.?By and far the majority of people down there are happy and excited about the beach. They like being able to walk from Revere Street down to Point of Pines. I think you?ll see a lot more people enjoying the beach,” Powers said, adding, “The main thing is that, with this project, the state has put $9 million into the beach.”Starting in September 2006, D?Allesandro rebuilt the roadway and sidewalks as part of the project and rebuilt the beachfront drainage system.Powers wants DCR to take long term steps to keep beach sand from eroding or blowing off the beach and onto the sidewalk or onto boulevard doorsteps and yards.Top state environmental officials last summer vowed to improve beach maintenance by assigning a manager to work with beachfront residents and neighborhood groups to keep up with repairs and upkeep.Completion of the beach work coincides with planning for two major beachside projects, including a complex of housing, hotels, offices and shops near Wonderland station.A second project, The Ocean Club, features four high-rise buildings mostly constructed from glass built around a beachside health club. Fencing and construction material have been placed on the construction site but work has yet to start.?I?d like to be optimistic. A lot of people have invested a lot of money down there, many of whom are elderly or empty nesters,” Powers said.