Committee reviews three Easy Street flood‑mitigation concepts; staff to synthesize public input for select board

Leah Hill, project manager for the Town of Nantucket, presented the feasibility and design options for the Easy Street Flood Mitigation Project during the Coastal Resilience Advisory Committee meeting on March 25, 2025.

Hill described three primary alternatives under study: (1) rebuild and elevate the waterfront bulkhead, adding tiebacks and localized road elevations/speed‑humps to isolate downtown low points; (2) an adaptable road‑raising to 6.5 feet NAVD88 with the option to raise later to higher levels; and (3) full road‑raising to 8.0 feet NAVD88 to reach a longer‑term design elevation. She emphasized the project is intended to reduce flood risk, not eliminate it, and that the effort is funded in part by a 2024 Coastal Zone Management (CZM) grant with deliverables due in June 2025.

Hill said the project team includes town staff and Arcadis consultants; subconsultants were listed for engineering and design. She noted the Easy Street watershed is roughly 53 acres of mostly impervious upland that directs stormwater downslope into the downtown pocket, and that stormwater…