By Dolores Sauca Lorusso

The replacement of the seawall along Nantasket Avenue near the Fitzpatrick Way lagoon could result in major changes to the traffic patterns around Allerton Hill, residents were told at a public meeting Tuesday.

Attendees were told that the wall is a “critical link in town” protecting the road to Pemberton Point, two schools, the sewer plant, Coast Guard Station, commuter ferry, and hundreds of homes.

Four of the six options for traffic changes at the foot of Allerton Hill near XYZ Streets. The changes will be coordinated with reducing nantasket avenue to one lane along the seawall near the fitzpatrick way lagoon on the northern side of the hill. CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS AND ALL TRAFFIC DIAGRAMS.

While the wall will be rebuilt and the section of Nantasket Avenue behind it reduced to one lane, a change in traffic patterns over Allerton Hill could be part of the project. Some of the options presented by consultants included building a roundabout at XYZ Streets to manage traffic flow on Fitzpatrick Way and Nantasket Avenue.

While acknowledging resident comments that the project will “inconvenience 150 residents,” Town Manager Jennifer Constable said, “doing this protects 11,000 residents and those that visit Hull; if the wall falls it will be an insurmountable issue... It is important to authorize funding for this project at town meeting.”

The total project cost is $15.6 million. The town approved matching $1 million for the $3 million state seawall grant, another $4.94 million from FEMA will help pay for the project, and approval is pending on another $665,000 federal grant. The town would pay any remaining cost and a request for $6 million is on the May 6 town meeting warrant.

“Sixty percent of the project is funded by other sources besides the town and taxpayers,” said Constable.

Kevin Mooney, senior waterways engineer and owner of Waterways Project Management, said if the wall failed the cost would be 10 to 12 times of the wall rebuild, and that number is “still climbing, so the cost of the rebuild is justified.”

The pipe that carries wastewater from the bulk of the town to the sewer treatment plant is of particular concern to town officials; if the seawall fails and Nantasket Avenue is damaged, the impact on public utilities and public health could be substantial.

Residents expressed their opinions on the reconstruction plans and the impacts it could have on their lives. Concerns about the project ranged from disapproval of the possibility turning Nantasket Avenue into a one-way street to flooding from runoff from raising the level of the road.

Major findings in the traffic study indicated the crash rate at the intersection of Nantasket, Fitzpatrick, and Beacon is above average; however, primarily due to low volumes of traffic, it is one crash per year.

Resident Marie Wentling noted this must be older data, because just this past summer there were two rollover accidents in that area.

“I have lived in town 26 years… there is a lot of speeding near Fitzpatrick Way,” said Wentling, adding there is flooding at the intersection two to three times per winter.

Concerns also were raised about adequate room for school buses to turn.

Corrinne Tobias, senior project manager at Green International Affiliates, agreed that “it is a tough turn,” and said the consultants are “looking at widening it.” She said the buses “should make it, but not saying it is comfortable.”

Residents suggested putting underground conduit for the telephone lines.

“There have been a lot of good points tonight, the current plan is to move the utility poles over to the lagoon side, but there is potential to put conduit underground,” Constable said.

Hull Building Commissioner Bartley Kelly said the town needs an easement from the owner of 948 Nantasket Ave. to do work behind the home; residents had commented that they had heard that eminent domain may be used as part of the project.

“It is a two-tiered approach; if the owner doesn’t cooperate, the balls are in play to move it along,” said Kelly.

“There is also a section to raise four feet; the property owner needs to cooperate to get it done, if he doesn’t, there would be a taking,” said Mooney, adding that the consultants are “planning for the worst hoping we don’t need to, but it is important for the project to move along.”

The project calls for the new seawall to be constructed landward of the existing structure, possibly necessitating a change of the road to one lane. The presentation indicated a “range of alternatives” were investigated and two preferred options were identified during the town’s review process.

“No final decision has been made, but number six is the preferred alternative,” Tobias said. “We are presenting here tonight to get input and see if we are headed in the right direction.”

The most preferred option in the presentation is keeping Nantasket Avenue a two-way street, while the second preferred alternative has Nantasket as one-way. Both these options maintain traffic on Fitzpatrick Way, reducing traffic impacts on neighborhoods. Other options include changing of Nantasket or Fitzpatrick or both, to traffic in one direction, and potentially building a roundabout at the foot of Allerton Hill.

The design of the wall is complete, and the town has grant funding to partially fund construction, which is anticipated to begin later this year to remove and replace approximately 1,675 feet of seawall between 948 and 1033 Nantasket Ave.

The proposed design includes replacing a large portion of the seawall, relocating overhead utilities, raising a portion of the road, and adding a crushed stone path and vegetated strip alongside the seawall, and creating an overlook with a view of the ocean. The main portion of the seawall along Nantasket Avenue would be cut down to half its current height and a new seawall would be built approximately 11 feet inland to a height of 22.5 feet above mean low water (MLW) elevation, while Nantasket Avenue would be raised to a height of 18 feet above MLW elevation.

The construction will take about 18 months, with an expected lifespan of at least 50 years. Manafort Transportation LLC, the lowest bidder among the 18 contractors that expressed interest in the project, has been given notice of award.

Mooney explained with coastal protection, the option is to go wide or high – building the wall very high would block views and look like a “prison wall,” so the decision was made to go with a wider structure.

Mooney said the current wall’s concrete has passed its life expectancy and has been patched many times. He said the new wall greatly improves the level of protection because it is still higher than the existing wall and the street will be raised to protect from surge on the bay side.

“Areas of concrete have lost hydration, and concrete only stays good as long as it retains hydration,” Mooney said. “It is time to replace the wall because it has lost its strength.”

Russell Titmuss of GEI Consultants assured the nearly 30 residents in attendance when the one-way road is built, there will be space for pedestrians.

“On the lagoon side, there will be a four-foot-wide walkway to keep pedestrians out of traffic of the single-lane road,” Titmuss said. “The overlook at Fitzpatrick will have a landscaped path connected by a crosswalk, and those coming down from Nantasket can walk up and over.”

To view a copy of the presentation slides, visit the town’s website or click here. For the full Notice of Intent and plans, click here. Residents can submit comments to nantasketreconfigurationstudy@gmail.com by April 17.

The town manager said the project will be discussed in a newsletter which is expected to be released around April 23.

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