City Planner Alex Train announced that design work on a comprehensive rehabilitation of Beacham Street will commence in the New England Produce Center area, spanning from Spruce Street to the Everett line.
This initiative became possible after the City recently secured an unexpected $3 million grant from the federal Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration.
According to Train, the City has allocated $5 million in capital investment for the Fiscal Year 2020 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), bringing the total project budget to $8 million.
The timeline for beginning work is as soon as possible, Train noted.
“We are excited to get this started,” Train stated. “We are scheduled to start design and engineering on July 1. We will hopefully break ground on construction July 1, 2019. I expect there would be a three-year construction timeline. During that time and before, we will be coordinating with abutters, residents and businesses.”
The project calls for a complete transformation of the roadway from its current role as primarily an industrial truck route into a major east-west corridor accommodating automobiles, pedestrians, and cyclists.
The improvements will include a new road surface, new sidewalk on one side, a shared-use path on the southerly side featuring a buffered bike/pedestrian path, stormwater and drainage upgrades, new lighting, new street trees, and new signals at the Spruce and Williams Streets intersection.
Train noted that coordination efforts are underway with the City of Everett to ensure the Everett project aligns with the Chelsea design.
“They will be mimicking our design so there will be a contiguous and similar cyclable and walkable roadway from Chelsea to Everett,” he added.