Braintree Council Allocates $250K To Open Smelt Brook

BRAINTREE, MA — The Town Council last week unanimously approved allocating $250,000 to help pay for replacing a century-old culvert and opening up a section of Smelt Brook in Weymouth Landing.

The $1.6 million project was completed in the spring and was a collaborative effort with Weymouth to revitalize the commercial area on the border between the two towns. The project will restore habitat for fish who swim up the brook to reach their spawning grounds in Pond Meadow Park and protects the area from flooding by maintaining storm water drainage.

"This has been a long time coming," planning director Christine Stickney told the council. "We are very anxious to have this done."

Town Councilor Meredith Boericke said Weymouth is paying for 60 percent of the project, while the other 40 percent comes from Braintree's community preservation fund.

The fund isn't part of the town's operating budget, Boericke said. It's made through an existing 1 percent surcharge on property taxes that the state matches.

The projected included replacing a 100-foot-long culvert running under Commercial Street and opening up a 150-foot section of brook that ran underground, a practice known as "daylighting." Underground utilities beneath the road were also relocated as part of the project.

The project's next phase includes creating a small park along the open area of the brook, which would serve as a walkway between restaurants and shops along Commercial Street. Signs would be placed along the brook with information about fish habitats. More community preservation money will be sought for the project's final phase.