Westport
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EverythingWestport.com
Wednesday,
May 28, 2014photos/EverythingWestport.com
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Article Index . . .
The Massachusetts Legislature passes
$13 Billion Transportation Bond Bill (April 18, 2014.)
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The swallows return to Capistrano, prodigal sons return
home, and after almost three years asphalt will once again return to East
Beach Road. EverythingWestport.com Thursday, May 22, 2014 The swallows
return to Capistrano, prodigal sons return home, and after almost three years
asphalt will once again return to East Beach Road. The
storm-battered oceanfront way, or gravel path to be more precise, MassDEP has nixed rock revetments,
barrier shoals, and most other practical protections, frustrating Westport
Selectmen, local residents and businesses, beach goers and seasonal trailer
permit holders who depend on the fragile access route to their vacation
properties. “We have solved
our differences with I. W. Harding,” announced select board chair Atone
Vieira at last night’s Selectmen’s meeting. “We have signed
an agreement with the company that will avoid all litigation, and Harding and
our Highway Department have agreed to refinish the surface and prepare it for
pavement,” Vieira. An attempt to use
a reconstituted asphalt/gravel mix at the turn of the new year proved
disastrous when rain and freezing temperatures turned East Beach Road into an
impassable washboard full of ruts and bone-rattling potholes. I. W. Harding was
the contractor. Read about what
happened. After being
pummeled over the years by violent storms like Sandy, Irene, Bob, Carol and
other tempests too numerous to mention, the seashore road, deemed an
evacuation route by the state, has had to suffer the indignity of losing its
protective shoreline, drastically eroded by what some now say are shifting
replenishment sand patterns caused by the Gooseberry causeway. Now the end is in
sight. “We scarified
(scrapped) the road surface with our front-end loader late last week,” newly
appointed Highway Surveyor Chris Gonsalves told EverythingWestport. “We (highway department) dug down
three to four inches and redistributed/smoothed out the road surface, and I.
W. Harding brought in their 10-ton roller to compact the surface in
preparation for the anticipated paving.” “With Chris Gonsalves help, the recycled asphalt borrow road surface
was completed to the engineer’s (TEC) satisfaction,” Town Administrator Jack
Healey reported to Selectmen last night. “It is a very satisfactory surface
(for paving.)” The recycled
asphalt borrow road surface was very hard, according to Gonsalves.
“It will make a solid base for the asphalt topping. But rain softens up
exposed recycled asphalt surfaces, resulting in potholes and ruts. The (2 ˝ to
3”) asphalt topping prevents this from happening.” There were some
previous questions about the reliability of the recycled asphalt road as a
permanent surface, and I.W. Harding project manager, Dave Stahley
had told Selectmen he had never seen it used as a finished road. Independent
research by EverythingWestport could find no
recycled asphalt roads in the area, and Tibbetts
Engineering (TEC) failed to provide any references to Selectmen. Paving projects put out to bid. “The Bid Package for
the Riverview Drive/East Beach Road/Beach Avenue/WRRRP (Winter Rapid Road
Recovery Program) has been posted on the Central Register and will be put out
to bid this coming week,” Healey reported to Selectmen. “It is structured
as per the Selectmen’s vote with Beach Avenue as an Add Alternate,” Healey reported. Add Alternate
Bidding provides a transparent bidding process for contractors so that they
know the basis of award. The Central
Register is the weekly source for information about state, county and
municipal contracts being put out to bid for the design, construction and
reconstruction of public facilities in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. EverythingWestport.com Sunday, June 01, 2014 Yesterday was a
glorious day at Westport’s Horseneck Point at the
west end of East Beach Road; fair weather, deep blue sky and plenty of
sunshine. Nearly a cloud to
be seen. And the Life
Saving Station’s colorful signal flaps snapped gaily to attention in the
brisk, east wind. A great day for
the Westport Fishermen’s Association’s 1st annual Horseneck
Point Life Saving Station Day. “We’ve updated
the exhibits to promote more of the WFA’s projects and its mission to
building awareness of the issues facing the Westport River and the
watershed,” said WFA Director Jenifer Gelinas. “And over the
winter we created some fabulous, weather-protected storyboards, and mounted
them in the original station building to encapsulate its storied history.” The Life Saving
Station will be open on weekends to the public 12 noon to 4:00 p.m. from July
through Labor Day Weekend. Come on down and see what’s happening with the new
exhibits and learn more about a small but significant period in Westport’s
seafaring history.
Above: opening day of
the WFA’s 1st Annual Horseneck Point Life Saving
Station Day. Above left: WFA Director
Jennifer Gelinas points out the new storyboards in
the Life Saving Station’s boathouse. Right: The refurbished Station’s
rescue surf boat on loan from Cuttyhunk is on
display in the boathouse.
Above, left: WFA Director,
Jennifer Gelinas shows off this year’s handsome,
handmade kayak, the center piece of the Association’s annual fundraising
effort. Right: a new
educational exhibit this year for the young and not-so-young, a handmade
relief model highlighting the flora and fauna of the seashore.
Above: the Life Saving
Station and Museum are located at the west end of East Beach Road, at the
entrance to the Gooseberry Causeway.
Left: New educational exhibits in
the boathouse provide a new perspective to the Station’s place in seafaring
history. Right: East Beach stretches out to the east from the Life
Saving Station, making it an attraction to Station visitorsn. The Massachusetts Legislature passes $13 Billion
Transportation Bond Bill (April 18, 2014.) Westport
gets $400,000 to clear debris beneath Hix Bridge. EverythingWestport.com Sunday, June 1,
2014 The transportation
finance bill will help solve the immediate challenge of the structural budget
gap in the state’s transportation system. This conferenced bond bill (H.4046)
will authorize $13 billion in capital spending over the next five years to
fund improvements to the state’s transportation system and includes a
one-year $300 million authorization for the Chapter 90 program to fund local
projects such as rebuilding and repairing roads and bridges. The southcoast rail service will be funded, and Westport will
receive $400,000 to remove debris from underneath Hix
bridge that spans the East Branch of the Westport River. The bill requires
municipalities to be notified of their Chapter 90 appropriation before March
1st of each year. To support the Complete Streets Program, the bill
authorizes $50 million in spending and creates a grant program to provide
funding to municipalities that promote all modes of transportation, including
walking, cycling, public transportation, automobiles and freight. “This bill ensures the
modernization of our state’s transportation system and demonstrates a
particular commitment to the South Coast,” said Senator Michael Rodrigues
(D-Westport). “The collective and collaborative efforts of the regional
delegation resulted in funding for several key projects – including South
Coast Rail – that will enhance accessibility and prosperity in our part of
the Commonwealth.” “The
Transportation Bond Bill is a well thought out piece of legislation that
addresses many issues facing the South Coast,” said Representative Paul A.
Schmid (D-Westport). “Most importantly, bringing our transportation
infrastructure in to the 21st century, including funding for South Coast Rail
will have a huge impact on the economic development of the South Coast. We
must be better connected to Boston and as a region.” The bill includes $300
million in Chapter 90 funding for FY 2015 for the rebuilding and repairing of
roads and bridges. Westport plans to bid for a portion of that to assist with
paving Beach Avenue and East Beach Road and repairing partially collapsed
Riverview Drive. The bill
dedicates $2.3 billion for South Coast rail improvements and creates a $100
million South Coast rail mitigation program to assist communities impacted by
the South Coast rail project. The bill was
passed by the House and Senate, passed through Conference Committee and now
goes to the Governor to be signed into law.
Above, left: Riverview Drive experienced
a sinkhole large enough to swallow a car when an underground stormwater culvert collapsed, releasing a torrent of stormwater that washed out the road. Right: East Beach Road was scrapped earlier
in the year by the town’s frontend loader in an attempt to make the
washboard/pothole-inflicted road passable to incoming summer residents.
Above: East Beach Road has now been
scarified, scraped and rolled to prepare the reconstituted asphalt/cobble
road surface for paving.
Above: Paving of Beach Avenue was
put on hold while a coalition of Harbor residents work to put together an
alternative program of access to the town-owned Knubble
Beach for senior and disabled visitors. Southcoast Health performs first
defibrillator implant of its kind in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. EverythigWestport.com Thursday, June 05, 2014 Southcoast® Health
announced that it is the first in Massachusetts and Rhode Island to successfully
implant the new Boston Scientific INOGEN® MINI ICD. The procedure
was performed by cardiologist Nitesh Sood, MD, at Charlton Memorial Hospital in Fall River. The Boston Scientific INOGEN MINI ICD is the world's smallest and
thinnest defibrillator. It is designed for comfort – 20 percent smaller by
volume and up to 24 percent thinner than competitive devices from other
manufacturers. “This innovative technology helps treat
life-threatening arrhythmias of the heart, while improving patient comfort,” said
Dr. Sood.
ICDs are designed to treat patients suffering from heart failure and/or
to provide protection to patients at risk for sudden cardiac death. Heart
failure is a chronic, progressive condition in which the heart muscle is
unable to pump enough blood to meet the body’s need for oxygen. According to
the American Heart Association, sudden cardiac death is a leading cause of
death in the United States with nearly 400,000 out-of-hospital cardiac
arrests occurring annually. For more information on Southcoast's
Cardiovascular Services, visit http://www.southcoast.org/heart/. © 2014 Community Events of Westport. All rights
reserved. EverythingWestport.com |
