Salem Seawalls Could Get Help From State

SALEM, MA -- The Baker administration filed legislation that would provide $170 million in state funding for damaged coastal infrastructure, as well as the prevention, adaptation and mitigation of climate change. In Salem alone, there are an estimated $15 million in repairs needed, plus a need for new infrastructure to address higher water levels brought on by climate change.

"This winter, we’ve been reminded of how critical environmental assets like seawalls and dams are to our communities and how important these proposals will be for safeguarding municipalities and businesses from the impacts of climate change," Baker said in a statement announcing the filing of the bill.

That's good news for Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll and other Salem officials. While the city sets aside money each year for the upkeep of the seawalls that protect the city's harbor, Driscoll said in a Facebook post she is "very grateful" for the quick filing of the bill for additional state help by Baker.

"We know how critical the needs are here in Salem," Driscoll said. "As a coastal city it is even more vital that we identify our most vulnerable assets and take appropriate actions to mitigate potential threats that will be caused or exacerbated by climate change."

Salem officials were already planning to revisit a 2015 report about the condition of Salem's seawalls before the most recent winter storm. That report said it would cost as much as $15 million to bring all 43 structures up to an "A" rating, with much of that cost falling on the city. At the March 8 City Council meeting, Ward 1 Councillor Robert McCarthy brought an order to revisit the report and consider making some of the fixes recommended in the report.

The report was conducted by Bourne Consulting Engineering. It included an assessment of 43 structures designed to protect Salem from storm surges and gave them letter graded. Just five of the structures received a grade of A, 18 were graded B, 16 were graded C and four, or nearly 10%, were graded D. The report estimated that the cost of repairs to bring all 43 structures up to an A rating would be $14.91 million.

But all but five of the structures are owned by the City of Salem, meaning much of that cost would have to be paid for by the city. The report estimated the city's cost to bring all structures up to an A rating would be $12.5 million. If the city wanted to focus solely on the structures graded "D," the cost of repairs would be $5.8 million -- assuming the structures have not sustained more damage in the recent round of storms.

Much of the estimated repair costs would be for a 1,793-foot-long stone revetment on Szetela Lane at Collins Street. The report said the needed repairs have an estimated cost of $4.3 million and are "high priority." A complete upgrade of the structure would cost $8.5 million. The height of the dumped gravel revetment along Collins Cover varies from 10 to 15 feet and has been damaged by erosion.

The other two, city-owned structures graded D include:

• A stone seawall on the west end of Forest River Park that would cost an estimated $1.2 million to repair. Despite the low rating and a note that said the wall was ikely to fall, the structure was given a "low priority" in the 2015 report.
• A second, concrete seawall in Forest River Park was given "moderate priority" for repair. That structure, located at Pioneer Village, has an estimated repair cost of $466,884.

"While we’ve made annual investments in these areas, it is critical to have strong state and federal partners to assist with funding these vital needs," Driscoll said. "Looking forward to supporting this legislation and working collectively with our state partners to continue our investment in climate change mitigation and adaption strategies in Salem."

Read the full 2015 report. More information on Baker's proposal.

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Photo by Salem Mayor's Office.

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).