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Two North Shore road stream crossings, including one in West Newbury, have been selected by the state Department of Fish and Game’s Division of Ecological Restoration for future ecological restoration studies.
The culvert replacement sites – one on River Road in West Newbury and the other on Concord Street in Gloucester – were selected due to their vulnerability to coastal erosion, flooding and future sea-level rise, agency said.
Although the culverts are crossing freshwater streams, the division says they are expected to become tidal as sea levels rise, a transition presenting significant challenges for road infrastructure, DER officials said.
The Division of Ecological Restoration announced it is funding and managing future studies at the sites to help the communities, nearby landowners and partners overcome technical challenges and plan for ecological restoration and climate adaptation.
“Ecological restoration provides innumerable benefits,” Fish and Game Commissioner Tom O’Shea said in a prepared statement. “Projects like this will improve public safety, build resilience to sea-level rise, coastal erosion, and mitigate flooding, and restore water quality and wildlife habitat.
“By supporting municipalities and partners, we can scale our efforts to steward a biodiverse and climate ready future.”
“DER looks forward to helping these two communities evaluate and plan for sea-level rise while building resilient, fish-friendly road stream crossings,” Division of Ecological Restoration Director Beth Lambert said in a prepared statement. “Culvert upgrades and other nature-based solutions can be technically challenging and costly for our municipalities to pursue alone. State-municipal partnerships like this are key to successful implementation of ecological restoration and climate adaptation projects.”
In West Newbury, the River Road culvert is on an unnamed stream of the Merrimack River. The crossing faces challenges due to flooding and erosion, and has the potential to be heavily influenced by increased storms and sea level rise.
Conducting models of the way water moves at the culvert site and investigating potential ecological improvements through restoration would enable a systematic approach to improving infrastructure and natural resource resiliency, the state said.
In Gloucester, the Concord Street culvert is along a tributary of Walker Creek.
The DER indicated the culvert is affected by coastal storms and is at an increased risk for erosion and flooding. The replacement of the culvert with a structure of resilient design would address flood water retention and bank stabilization and sedimentation; improve fish passage and wildlife habitat; and increase climate resilience by preparing for sea level rise, storm surge, and coastal marsh mitigation.
A 2019 technical report called “Great Marsh Barrier Mitigation: A comprehensive program to mitigate aquatic barriers in the Great Marsh Area of Critical Environmental Concern region” by the Ipswich River Watershed Association looked at the single culvert on Concord Street, among many other “priority barriers” in the region.
“The site has been identified as a site that has experienced flooding and ranked as having poor aquatic organism passage in the (North Atlantic Aquatic Connectivity Collaboration) Tidal Crossing Assessment,” the report said. It singled out the culvert as having “no passage due to rock piles/undersized structures.”
Ethan Forman may be contacted at 978-675-2714, or at eforman@northofboston.com.
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By Ethan Forman | Staff Writer
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