MWRA to explain impact of Rt. 1 water project to Saugus

SAUGUS – The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) will hold a March 24 public information meeting at Town Hall in conjunction with the Saugus Chamber of Commerce to explain the impact of an upcoming major water-line project on Route 1.The MWRA plans to install a new water line from just south of the Walnut Street overpass near Trader Joe’s, north to the Fat Cactus restaurant on the northbound side of Route 1. According to MWRA spokesman Ria Convery, the $5 million project will require opening the roadway to lay the water line to Lynnfield.”It’s a big project that’s about to begin and it’s going to be a little bit difficult but, while we have the street open, we’re going to do Saugus’ pipes as well,” she said. “We’ll do the work and the town can repay us later.”The MWRA Board of Directors approved the two-year project last December. “We plan to talk to the business owners up there so that they know what to expect,” Convery said.Saugus Chamber President Sean Grant said he arranged the meeting for 8 a.m. in the Town Hall auditorium so that restaurant owners and managers can attend. “You can’t do it in the evening because that’s their busy time,” he said. “We want to make sure the business community, especially on Route 1, knows what is happening. Too many times in the past they have been misinformed or don’t know what’s going on and it doesn’t become an issue until it’s happening.”Grant said he was contacted by Jeffrey McLaughlin, an MWRA community relations coordinator, who offered to make a presentation to the business community.”I visited 120 businesses in the past day and a half, everyone from the Shoppes at Saugus all the way to Lynnfield and then back down the other side of the highway,” he said.The project will allow Saugus to benefit from the replacement of an aging water main with a new 12-inch diameter line and service connections. The anticipated outcome is a greater water supply and ample water pressure for fire protection.The MWRA and town officials have been working with the state Department of Transportation to coordinate their efforts and reduce the impact to the community and businesses along the route. Most of the work will take place in the late evening and night, between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. Sunday through Friday. State transportation authorities have allowed the MWRA and the contractor, Albanese Brothers, Inc., a one-lane closure between 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. and a two-lane closure from 11 p.m. through 5 a.m.Lane closures will not be allowed one day prior and one day following a holiday, McLaughlin said.