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Talks begin on Route 1 flooding

By Angeljean Chiaramida
Staff writer
Published: September 9, 2008

SALISBURY — A dialogue recently began between local officials and Bridge Road merchants concerned about the continued flooding along portions of the busy Route 1.

Led by the Salisbury Chamber of Commerce, a dozen business owners met with Salisbury Selectman Jerry Klima, Town Manager Neil Harrington and Public Works Director Don Levesque. The meeting informed owners of work being done to end the problem that has brought devastating floods to many properties over the years.

The area was flooded to varying degrees in 2005 and 2006, mostly because of a deteriorating railroad bed spanning Town Creek that abuts Bridge Road. Town Creek, a tributary from the Merrimack River that runs west through the salt marsh and under Bridge Road toward the sea, is crossed twice by former railroad lines.

The worst event was the Patriots Day storm of 2007, when many businesses sustained 4 feet of twice-daily flooding, as both the ocean and river inundated the roadway from rain, storm and tidal surges. Salisbury officials hired SPS New England to temporarily rebuild the railroad bed, providing a type of dam.

Unfortunately, although partial remedies might help minimize the flooding along the road in coming months, officials were clear that money and jurisdictional issues put a final solution about two years away.

Officials explained the town is working to get the $700,000 needed to permanently fix the railroad bed, with $350,000 coming from a state environmental bond and the rest from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Salisbury's creating a flood prevention plan it hopes FEMA will fund in the next couple of years. FEMA has a history of funding such plans, Harrington said.

"(FEMA) would rather fund a plan to prevent flooding than continually pay disaster relief money for areas that repeatedly flood," Harrington told merchants. "That's the reality of the situation."

An irritant for owners was news that Salisbury had received $2 million in state and federal funds to build a new recreational rail trail over the temporarily repaired railroad bed. Some Bridge Road owners didn't understand the funding restrictions that go along with this money, according to Salisbury Chamber of Commerce President Maria Miles.

"Here they heard there isn't $700,000 to fix the flooding, but there's $2 million to build the rail trail," Miles said of the owners. "But that money can't be transferred to fix flooding, and if we don't use it for the rail trail, we'll lose it."

The new rail trail could actually help by raising the level of the rail bed about a foot above the 100-year-flood level, Klima said, helping to deter flooding in the future. Paving the trail makes it more sturdy than the grass and gravel there now, he added.

Klima said the rail trail money is coming from a federal grant through MassHighway for the recreational trail and is restricted for that use.

"I think a lot of people have a better understanding of the situation now after the meeting," said Tim Lamprey, owner of Bridge Road's Harbor Gardens, flooded twice in recent years. "But there's a large feeling of frustration. If this strip of Route 1 were in Danvers, you bet the state would fix it. Salisbury always seems to be the poor stepchild."

Bill Richard of Richard's Maytag lost nearly $100,000 in appliances due to the 2007 floods. He hopes the recent meeting impressed upon officials the need to keep area businesses informed.

"We're holding our breath worried the flooding could all happen again," Richard said after the meeting.

For Gordon Blaney, the owner of David's Fish Market and another flood victim, the meeting was beneficial.

"At least the lines of communication are open again," Blaney said. "You don't know what's it's like to walk into your business, with floodwater up to your waist and watch your equipment all floating around you. I just can't do that again."