Select Board members and the project team presented updated design alternatives for the Easy Street Flood Mitigation Project on March 12, laying out trade-offs between bulkhead upgrades, phased road-raising and a full road-raising approach and asking the public for feedback before recommending a preferred option.

The project manager, Leah (project manager), said the town received a coastal resilience grant from the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management to fund work to 30% design and described the project as “the first structural Coastal Resilience Plan recommendation being implemented.” The project team stressed that any selected option would reduce frequent tidal flooding but cannot eliminate all future risk from sea level rise.

The project area runs along Easy Street from the South Beach Street/Broad Street intersection to Old North Wharf and includes Easy Street Park and the Steamboat Wharf entrance. Arcadis presenters Trevor Johnson and Bill Casey reviewed four alternatives (bulkhead expansion, two staged road-raising variants and a full-raise option) and introduced a fifth design that focuses more on raising Easy Street as a principal means to provide protection and co-benefits such as improved pedestrian access and stormwater treatment. Bill Casey described technical details of elevations under consideration and said the team is targeting a protection level that could be adapted toward an elevation of about 8 feet in future phases.

Project engineers identified stormwater as a separate but related issue: much of the watershed that drains to Easy Street is steep and highly impervious, producing large rainfall-driven flows. Arcadis and Woods Hole Group recommended a combination of infrastructure upgrades, green‑infrastructure detention, and pumped discharge to manage stormwater in concert with coastal protection. “This area of Easy Street, as soon as 2030, so in 5 years, could be flooding on the daily,” Vince Murphy, the town’s sustainability programs manager, summarized using the town’s compiled tide and flood records.

Select Board members and members of the Nantucket Historical Commission (NHC) urged the project team to weigh the visual and historic impacts of road-raising options on the Old Historic District and properties along Easy Street. Select Board member Dawn (Select Board member) asked about coordination with the Nantucket Land Bank and whether the recently built park would need to be altered; Leah said the team has engaged the Land Bank and noted where bulkhead seams create vulnerabilities. NHC Chair Rita Cartier and preservation planner Holly Backus emphasized the town’s National Historic Landmark status and urged the team to show street‑level visuals and international examples so residents could better imagine the appearance of each design.

Technical and schedule details: the CZM grant ends June 2025, and staff plan to seek further CZM funding to support final design and permitting. The project team said 30% design and cost estimates will be produced if the Select Board and community identify a preferred alternative; subsequent final design, permitting and construction will follow, with construction likely staged to avoid summer disruption. Arcadis estimated design work could take roughly 12–18 months and construction would likely occur over multiple off‑season seasons to limit summer impacts.

Next steps: the project team will host two identical public open‑house sessions on Tuesday, March 18 (09:30–10:30 a.m. and 5:30–6:30 p.m.), with a recorded session and online survey. Staff said they will present a recommendation to the Select Board after the open house and additional community engagement.

The Select Board requested additional visualizations (including Old North Wharf/ Cambridge Street views), clarification on tiebacks where flood barriers meet existing streetscapes, and comparative cost and staging information for phased versus single‑step approaches. The team said more detailed cost estimates and permitting analysis will be included in the 30% design package.