Beaver Dam Brook Culvert Removal Project Completed!

The Beaver Dam Brook Culvert Removal project is now complete. Residents of the Perry Avenue/Wirthmore Lane neighborhood should finally see greater relief from flooding as the Beaver Dam Brook can now flow more freely through to Reedy Meadow and on to the Saugus River, according to Charlie Richter, Lynnfield Town Engineer and lead for the project.

“This project was a massive undertaking, capping nearly nine years of planning efforts with the MBTA”, notes Richter. “The culvert has been removed, the embankment has been stabilized, and the construction site’s stockpile area has been loamed and readied for reseeding in the Spring.”  

“We are grateful for the efforts of everyone involved in this project - the Board of Selectmen, the DPW, the Conservation Commission, the Board of Health, and of course, the MBTA”, adds Richter.

Residents of Perry Avenue and Wirthmore Lane have long complained of flooding issues during major rain events. To compound the problem, culvert conditions have been worsened by frequent obstructions resulting from debris collection and beaver activity. Although alternative flood remediation options have been explored over the years, it became clear that removal of the culvert would provide the most immediate flood relief to this neighborhood. The challenge then lay in the pursuit of this option.

The culvert, owned by the MBTA, was situated under its abandoned railbed.  Maintenance on these abandoned railbeds is understandably a low priority for the MBTA, and keeping this project on any MBTA priority list had fallen to Richter. The Town was responsible for the project’s design engineering and permitting, a significantly smaller cost than the MBTA’s funding of the project’s entire construction work, which Richter estimates at close to $100,000.

Though pleased to see the conclusion of this particular project, Richter adds that the Town will continue to look at other means of alleviating flood conditions.