Northern Strand Community Trail Extension

The City sought to build upon the success of the northern sections of the Path by continuing it to the Mystic River. The extension to the south provides a connection from the terminus near downtown Everett to the Mystic River, including the Gateway Shopping Center, Encore Boston Harbor, Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) Riverwalk paths, and eventually destinations across the river into Boston via a pedestrian bridge to be built to Assembly Row. HSH completed an initial planning study and alternatives analysis to evaluate the feasibility of each concept. The presence of wetlands, the MBTA ballast yard and commuter rail, an Activity Use Limitation (AUL) on contaminated property, and multiple land owners added challenges beyond the civil engineering required to design the path. HSH completed preliminary and final design for the path, which included sections of boardwalk over resource areas and retaining walls to reduce impacts to the MBTA property and adjacent wetlands. HSH prepared an NOI on behalf of the City of Everett for the proposed work in accordance with the Massachusetts Wetland Protection Act. The design proposed temproary and permanent imapcts to the Bordering Vegated Wetlands (BVW’s) and permenant impacts to the Land Subject to Coastal Storm Flowage (LSCSF). Mitigation measures proprosed were sediment control, landscape mitigation and wetland replication. The NOI was presented to the Everett Conservation Commission and approved. HSH continued to assist with design and permitting of an additional extension of the community path (Bizzaro Lane Extension), west of Sweetser Circle, crossing the intersection of Kelvin Street and Revere Beach Parkway before continuing west to meet the river trail adjacent to the Malden River.