SWAMPSCOTT — Residents traveling down Humphrey Street recently may have noticed construction disrupting their usual morning commute.
The town’s work on Humphrey Street is part of a bigger effort to reduce bacterial contamination in the drainage system for the outfall pipe at Fisherman’s Beach, located near Marshall Street. Water quality tests consistently revealed bacteria levels above regulatory thresholds for recreational use.
To address this issue, Kleinfelder, the engineering consulting firm partnered with the town, proposed a design for infrastructure improvements to the area’s sewer system. This includes the repair of sewer pipes, manholes, and laterals. The goal is to remove sanitary sewer sources from the drainage system, with the hope of improving the water quality at Fisherman’s Beach.
The town plans to complete sewer improvement projects at several locations, including Humphrey Street, Puritan Road, Bay View Drive, Greenwood Avenue, Aspen Road, Cedar Hill Terrace, and Millet Road.
Gino Cresta, director of the Department of Public Works (DPW), said N. Granese and Sons Inc., the town’s contractor, is performing the work. The current construction plan spans from November 2024 to June 2025.
“The project has been progressing smoothly throughout the winter months; however, the condition of the sewer main is worse than initially anticipated,” Cresta said. “Repairing these mains will make significant progress toward eliminating the discharge of bacteria onto Fisherman’s Beach.”
The project includes trench excavation to replace defective sewer pipes, as well as trenchless work to renew damaged sewers using cured-in-place pipe lining. The work will require temporary road closures and lane adjustments during working hours. Once construction is complete, all surfaces will be repaved and revegetated.
