Saugus hears new proposal to move sand to Winthrop Beach

SAUGUS – The Saugus Conservation Commission heard a new proposal Wednesday from the Department of Conservation and Recreation to remove sand from the abandoned I-95 roadbed along Route 107 to restore Winthrop Beach.Rachel Burckardt, a consultant working with the DCR, said the plan is to remove sand along the Eastern Avenue side of the roadbed and leave the Route 107 side intact. This would bring the width at the top from around 100 feet to 30 feet.Burckardt also said new trees, shrubs and grass will be planted.?We?ve had a number of issues come up from the public so we?re trying to address that,” said Burckardt. “There was concern about visual and noise.”Wednesday?s plan was the third proposal from Burckardt. The original plan, which was presented over the summer, was to take the entire roadbed down from 23 feet to five feet. However, many residents objected to it.Burckardt said the project could take until 2015 to finish, noting the DCR would also have to get permits from the Army Corps of Engineers and the Department of Environmental Protection before proceeding.Burckardt said trucking the material would run for about eight months from around 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.Precinct 10 Town Meeting member Peter Manoogian urged the commission to independently verify the information provided by the DCR to ensure there won?t be any drastic impacts to the surrounding community in the future, especially with flooding.Board of Health member Pamela Harris said she?s going to be following the project “extremely close” and wanted to make sure the elevation of the roadbed would not change.?My home backs along Eastern Avenue so I have a wonderful view of everything that goes on for the last 40 years,” she said. “This really acts as a barrier to 107 and the ash off of the landfill.”The commission will hire an independent engineer to review the plans and conduct another site visit on Jan. 19 at 9 a.m. before meeting again.Matt Tempesta can be reached at [email protected].