Saugus selectmen on standby for bridge removal

SAUGUS – Despite the haste involved at the last discussion of the possible removal of the Elm Street Bridge, selectmen still have no deadline for their decision.At a meeting Dec. 10, consultants from CDM Smith recommended that if Saugus wanted the area?s flood mitigation project funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the town should choose to remove the bridge. With a $1.4 million price tag, the project would meet FEMA?s cost-benefit requirement, but the board was concerned it were presented with no alternatives with costs to compare to that of removing the bridge.Though consultants urged the board to move quickly to avoid being waitlisted for the money, they provided no deadline. On Wednesday, Town Manager Scott Crabtree said the consultants had not yet provided a solid date, but said since the Dec. 10 meeting they had received “conceptual figures on what could be done with the bridge.”The issue was on the board?s meeting agenda for Jan. 21, but the meeting was canceled due to the forecasted snowstorm and postponed for Tuesday, Jan. 28.Selectman Steve Castinetti said Wednesday that he “wasn?t overly impressed with the presentation” by CDM Smith and would not have voted for the removal based solely on that recommendation. “I think if it was so time-sensitive, we would have a date by now,” he added. “I?m not going to be forced into a vague time restraint if we don?t know what that time restraint is.”