Nahant Causeway design revamped

NAHANT-In response to concerns from the town of Nahant, the state has revamped the proposed Nahant Causeway rehabilitation project.The most dramatic proposed change in the initial plans called for narrowing the Nahant Causeway to one lane in each direction at the midway point on the inbound side from Lynn to Nahant, replacing the jersey barrier in the middle of the Causeway with rumble strips and adding a crosswalk at the midway point.Nahant Town Administrator Mark Cullinan said the plan has been modified to address some of the concerns raised by town.?The biggest concerns we had were the crosswalk, median strip and funneling down to one lane inbound,” he said. “This plan has addressed those problems. I think it looks a lot better. The crosswalk has been taken out at the midway point and the inbound side would remain two lanes all the way into town.”Cullinan said instead of installing just rumble strips to separate the inbound and outbound lanes, the new plan calls for a post and cable-type barrier on the median.He said with the new plan, the outbound lane of the Causeway is one lane from the exit of town to the halfway house, but there is also a breakdown lane.?When we went in we said we wanted two lanes in both directions,” he said. “But this is a big improvement over the previous proposal. I think we have Sen. (Thomas) McGee (D-Lynn) and Rep. (Steven) Walsh (D-Lynn) to thank for that. They were both very strong advocates for the town and made sure these changes were made.”McGee said DCR Commissioner Rick Sullivan was very receptive to the concerns brought forth by the town, which were the crosswalk, lack of a median barrier and only one lane in a section of the inbound side of the Causeway.?We agreed that there were three issues that were the concerns of the community,” he said. “I think it’s really great that they (DCR) were able to work with us to make the changes. We’re very excited to see this moving forward.”Walsh said he is pleased the DCR revised the plan.?The DCR heard loud and clear from residents,” he said. “The original plan was from well meaning folks who don’t necessarily travel that road every day. I’m glad they are making the appropriate changes. We’re going to get a safe road that meets the needs of residents. “According to the DCR, plans are available for viewing at the public library and Nahant Town Hall. The public comment period ends on July 15 and anyone who would like to submit a comment on the proposal should do so by sending an email to [email protected] or by sending comments to: ?Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) Office, Executive Office of Environmental Affairs, 100 Cambridge Street, Suite 900, Boston, MA 02114 Attn: Project #: 14268.Cullinan said he believes the DCR plans to start the actual work in the spring of 2009.