Back in the pre-COVID times of 2019, Ipswich River partnered with the Town of Newbury and received a planning grant via the State’s Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) Program. The project would address a critical stream crossing susceptible to coastal flooding hazards (see map above). Orchard Street, between Interstate 95 and Route 1, crosses tidally-influenced Cart Creek as it skirts around the edge of the Great Marsh. The site suffers from regular flooding that overtops the roadway, leading to hazardous conditions for the public.
Being a coastal crossing, the current undersized structure at Orchard Street frequently floods. This leads to erosion which threatens the integrity of both the culvert and roadway. Additionally, the current crossing has no guardrails, lending itself to precarious situations for pedestrians and motorists alike. Part of the proposed culvert upgrade is a new and improved structure consisting of a single-span bridge (with guardrails!). The upgrade would no longer impinge on the tidal flow, alleviating erosion concerns while creating a much friendlier situation for fish (like herring) trying to navigate their way up the channel.
The Orchard Street crossing has been on the Town’s radar for quite some time. It was detailed within the Great Marsh Barriers Mitigation Project as part of furthering on-the-ground restoration efforts within the Great Marsh. Through our regional PIE-Rivers Partnership, we utilize the expertise and knowledge of local stakeholders to partner with local municipalities like Newbury to identify and complete multi-benefit projects like this. As climate change continues to encroach upon our state’s coastal communities, the need to complete resiliency projects becomes greater and greater.
We are thankful for the support of our project partners (including Derosa Environmental, the Town of Newbury, and Gill Engineering) as we finalize the designs and permitting phase of this project. We are looking forward to seeing this project come to completion, and hope that other Towns can point to Orchard Street as an example of the type of project they’d like to see in their own backyard.