DPW Supervisor Amy McHugh tried to give residents a clearer picture Tuesday night of where Marblehead’s road and sidewalk money is going, outlining projects planned over the next several years and promising new tools to help the public track the work.
McHugh’s Sept. 23 presentation to the Select Board came amid mounting frustration over the condition of Marblehead’s roads and questions about how the town is spending the $12.475 million voters approved in 2022 for road paving and sidewalk reconstruction. But the presentation did not include a written timeline showing when upcoming projects are expected to begin or be completed — something residents and Select Board members have repeatedly requested.
“Our goal is simple: fix the right streets at the right time, once,” McHugh told the board.
That means, she said, the town cannot simply pave the streets in the worst condition. DPW considers pavement ratings, safety, accessibility, sidewalks and planned utility work before deciding when and how to tackle a road.
The goal is to avoid repaving a street only to have a gas or water company tear it up shortly afterward.
“We’re not just resurfacing old roads; we’re building long-lasting, integrated public ways,” McHugh said.
Where the money stands
Of the $12.475 million approved under Article 11 in 2022, the town has spent $4.17 million, committed another $1.82 million and has approximately $6.48 million remaining, McHugh said. So far, McHugh said the money has been used on more than “six miles of full total street projects, plus minor rehabilitation and major ADA and sidewalk enhancements.”
Some of that remaining money is already being eyed for several significant projects.
The largest is a proposed redesign of the Pleasant Street corridor between Devereux and Smith streets. The approximately $3.5 million project would narrow the roadway to two lanes, upgrade traffic signals and include bicycle and pedestrian improvements, including a shared-use sidewalk.
The town has applied for a $1 million grant toward the work, with Article 11 money expected to cover the remaining cost if the grant is awarded.
McHugh emphasized the safety concerns along the corridor, which has been the site of two fatalities and a serious bicycle crash near the Rail Trail crossing.
The project would complement MBTA-funded improvements planned for the intersection of Smith, Baldwin and Pleasant streets.
McHugh said the town is also setting aside approximately $1 million for work on Curtis, Roosevelt and Maverick streets, where utility projects have further damaged already poorly rated roads. DPW and its consultant are now considering how extensively sidewalks should be added or rebuilt there.
The streets present challenges because of trees, parking, intermittent sidewalks and their dead-end configurations, McHugh said. On Maverick Street, however, providing sidewalk access to the Rail Trail is a priority.
The town is also proposing $1 million for sidewalk improvements, including ADA-accessible ramps around schools and along Humphrey and Tedesco streets. A grant application to pay for some of those improvements was unsuccessful.
Another $800,000 is proposed for less extensive road rehabilitation on portions of Pleasant and Humphrey streets and Evans Road. Those streets need work now, McHugh said, even though utility upgrades that could eventually require more extensive reconstruction are still years away.
What could happen next
Select Board members pressed McHugh for something residents have repeatedly requested: a clearer timeline showing which roads will be repaired next.
McHugh said sections of Pleasant Street, Humphrey Street from Maple Street toward the high school, and Evans Road have been submitted to the town’s paving contractor for work. Some could be completed this fall, but if the contractor cannot get to them before the paving season ends, work would begin in the spring
“If he doesn’t get it done this fall, you know he’ll be out the gate in the spring with those,” McHugh said of Evans Road.
Curtis, Roosevelt and Maverick streets are expected to follow, potentially in the spring, although designs are still being worked out.
Washington Street remains a more complicated and longer-term project.
National Grid is replacing gas infrastructure along the street, including work extending from Rockaway Street toward Orange Street. At the same time, the town is working on design questions involving sidewalks, accessibility, utility poles, parking and the previously developed Five Corners design.
McHugh said DPW does not want to pave Washington Street while major utility work remains unfinished.
The tradeoff is that residents may continue to live with a deteriorated road for some time.
“I’ve gotten a lot of pushback because it kills me to pave a road, knowing that I have to dig it up to do all these utilities,” McHugh said. “But common sense does say if it’s going to be 10 years for its utility, you might as well pay.”
Officials discussed the possibility that the town could eventually use Chapter 90 state road money for an interim paving project on Washington Street, leaving more extensive sidewalk reconstruction for later.
No five-year schedule — yet
Board members repeatedly returned to the question of timing, saying residents want to know not only why a street is waiting but approximately when they can expect something to happen.
McHugh acknowledged the town does not have a firm five-year construction schedule.
Utility schedules, engineering, funding and other factors make long-range dates difficult to guarantee. A street can remain in the pipeline for years as gas and water work is completed, trenches settle and designs are developed.
McHugh said the town has learned from recent projects that residents need much more information before work begins.
DPW is now focusing on providing a more reliable 12- to 18-month outlook, rather than promising dates years in advance that could change.
New maps and FAQs coming
Improving communication was a major part of McHugh’s presentation.
The Current reported in August that residents were asking for a publicly accessible priority list, a long-term capital plan and a map showing completed, active and planned projects. At the time, Town Administrator Thatcher Kezer acknowledged that communication was an area where the town needed to improve.
McHugh said Tuesday that several of those tools are now in development.
An FAQ page expected to launch in October will centralize project status, funding information and explanations of how roads are selected. It will initially include a static map and information about projects expected over roughly the next 12 to 18 months.
The town is also building the underlying GIS system needed for a more sophisticated public map. The internal GIS base map is targeted for summer 2027, with a fully interactive public version expected by summer 2029.
Eventually, residents should be able to click on a street and see information about past, current and future capital work.
In the meantime, McHugh said DPW has expanded its communications through Marblehead TV, town website updates, Traffic Safety Advisory Committee briefings, neighborhood Zoom meetings, advance project notices and paving door tags.
“Communication is faster, clearer and more consistent, but we still need to keep improving,” she said.
McHugh said the larger shift is from responding to individual failing roads to planning streets as interconnected infrastructure — coordinating pavement, sidewalks, accessibility, utilities and bicycle and pedestrian needs.
Article 11, she said, made that approach possible by allowing Marblehead to go beyond the basic paving historically funded largely through the state’s Chapter 90 program.
The 2022 money has helped finance more than six miles of what McHugh calls “total street” projects, along with smaller road repairs and sidewalk and ADA improvements.
But the remaining $6.48 million will not cover every road awaiting work.
McHugh noted that when voters approved Article 11 in 2022, the concept was that Marblehead would make another major investment in its roads roughly every five years.
As projects move forward, she said, the town will continue balancing the condition of the pavement against utility schedules, safety, accessibility and available money.
“We’re moving from reactive repairs to long-term infrastructure planning,” McHugh said.
