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Town consultants outline culvert replacement on Rattlesnake Mountain Road; guardrails, tree removal and wetland mitigation remain unresolved
Summary
Consultants described replacing an undersized 24-inch culvert with an approximately 9.9-foot culvert, shoulder widening for guardrails, temporary dewatering and removal of about eight trees; the commission requested tree-replacement plans, clarification of wetland replacement numbers and options for guardrail materials.
Susanna Souza, a project consultant, summarized a culvert-replacement project on Rattlesnake Mountain Road that would replace an undersized 24-inch culvert with an approximately 9.9-foot span culvert and regrade the roadway shoulders about 1 foot on each side to accommodate required guardrails. The work is intended to improve hydraulic capacity and aquatic passage.
The project will require temporary dewatering of the work area using upstream and downstream coffer dams, bypass pumps and dewatering bags, the consultant said. She told commissioners that about eight trees on the south side of the road would be removed and that disturbed embankments would be seeded with a wildlife conservation mix and include wetland restoration plantings.
Commissioners expressed concern about required guardrails through an Area of Critical Environmental Concern, questioning aesthetic and material options. "It's an absolutely beautiful dirt road in the middle of an ACEC and you're gonna put guardrails up, it's gonna be awful," one commissioner said. The consultant responded that the guardrails are a safety requirement and the team would explore options and costs, including wooden alternatives.
On mitigation, the consultant discussed wetland replacement figures and the potential for in-lieu fees. Replacement numbers were discussed in the meeting (consultant cited example figures including 677 and 621 square feet as replacement targets during the review), and commissioners asked whether town funds or grant money could address tree replacement. The project team said the work has been grant-funded through the Massachusetts Division of Ecological Restoration to date.
The commission requested additional detail: firm tree-replacement calculations, confirmation of wetland replacement area and methods to avoid invasive Phragmites in replacement areas. Commissioners also asked for options to reduce riprap where possible and for monitoring commitments to ensure replacement plantings survive.
