Saugus delays hearing on I-95 roadbed plan

SAUGUS – The Saugus Conservation Commission delayed a hearing from the Department of Conservation and Recreation scheduled for tonight after town officials did a site visit at the old I-95 roadbed over the weekend.The DCR is looking to remove sand from the roadbed to restore Winthrop Beach, but many residents have opposed the project.Engineers working for the DCR have been going before the commission since August, and after Saturday?s walkthrough, Conservation Commission member Paul Petkewich said engineers for the town and the DCR will look over more details of the project before returning on Feb. 13.?It?s always a lot clearer when things are staked out for you because you can see it up close,” said Petkewich. “It went very well. We had a list of concerns that we wanted clarified, and Rick Salvo took all those down along with engineers from the state and together they?re working on that list. The next time they?re looking to come in is Feb. 13.”The DCR presented an updated plan to the Conservation Commission earlier this month. The plan calls for the removal of sand along the Eastern Avenue side of the roadbed with the Route 107 side remaining intact. This would bring the width at the top from around 100 feet to 30 feet.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.Selectmen Chairman Michael Serino attended the site visit, as did several Town Meeting members, neighbors and engineers for the DCR.Serino said the current proposal is much better than the original plan, and noted there are still some legal issues that need to be discussed.?I?m hoping that Conservation asks the applicant that they hire an attorney so the town can look at the care and control agreement to see what, if any, standing the town has,” said Serino.Serino said the Massachusetts Highway Department owned the land when it wanted to build the I-95 extension there in the 1970s. After it signed a care and control agreement with the DCR, Serino said the DCR in turn signed a care and control agreement with the Board of Selectmen in 1985.?We need our attorneys to look at those two agreements to see exactly what standing the town has for this project,” he said. “I think the neighbors had a false sense of security there for 40 years thinking that nothing could ever happen to the sand pile.”Serino said while some people don?t want to see the sand pile removed, the town may not be able to stop the project from going forward. If that is the case, Serino said the proposal has “come a long way” since being presented in August.?The first proposal was to just leave a 12-foot high sand pile only 10-feet wide,” said Serino. “I objected to that and asked for 30 feet wide. Then they came back with their second plan and agreed to that. They?re trying to work with the town, but you still have a couple of neighbors that don?t want to see it removed and I understand that. If we have no choice, that?s why we need our attorneys to give us an opinion.”Matt Tempesta can be reached at [email protected].