Cape Ann residents depend on their roads and bridges.

As Cape Ann developed around the waterfront, many roadways were constructed near the ocean and on filled land in former wetlands.¹ These transportation networks are now at risk of coastal flooding.

There are roads in each municipality that already experience nuisance flooding and have been weakened by saltwater intrusion. This flooding will become more frequent due to sea level rise and such roads will become increasingly expensive to maintain and repair.

The Cape Ann community must balance private property rights with the public interest as municipalities determine which roads should be invested in versus those that can be relocated or abandoned.²

There are currently 38 miles of road across Cape Ann in the FEMA floodplain. These roads are at high risk of flooding.

There are also 28 miles of roads in areas that have been filled in or converted from marshland. Many such roads, including the Essex Causeway, Thatcher Road, and Ocean Street in Manchester-by-the-Sea, already flood intermittently.

Transportation networks are expensive to construct and maintain. This is especially true in areas with significant changes in temperature throughout the year due to the need for road salt and plowing. Maintenance costs on highways are generally more than $28,000 annually.³⁴

Roads that flood repetitively become weakened by salt water over time and require more frequent repairs.⁵

There are a variety of transportation operations that can be used to defend roadways from flooding. These operations should be paired with drainage maintenance, including building swales into roadways to filter rainwater and absorb floodwaters.⁶⁷

Critical evacuation routes that are currently at risk of flooding should be realigned out of the flood zone. ⁸

Route 128 is the largest highway on Cape Ann. It is a critical road for commuters and an emergency evacuation route from east Gloucester and Rockport off Cape Ann. It also provides access to Addison Gilbert Hospital.

The former roadway should be demolished and the salt marsh restored to buffer against strong waves.

Thatcher Road was built through Good Harbor Marsh. The road inhibits marsh migration inland, which would otherwise provide a buffer against storms and wave energy. Thatcher Road, Route 128 from Route 127 to Bass Avenue, Hartz Street, Wise Place, and the feeder road to Stop and Shop Plaza are disinvested and traffic re-routed north along Route 127 on Eastern Avenue to Rockport.

This limits access to 26 buildings, the owners of which assume responsibility for the roadways. Temporary flood barriers are deployed along Main Street during flooding events.⁹

The Route 127 Causeway is a critical evacuation route from Rockport to Gloucester and off the Cape Ann peninsula.

The road has been repaired in recent years due to intermittent flooding and is, as a result, more likely to buckle in an extreme storm event. A 330-foot stretch of the Causeway is elevated by four feet to allow water to pass under the bridge into Goose Cove. A temporary flood barrier is deployed during severe weather events. Two buildings lose access to the road.

The Essex Causeway carries Main Street, or Route 133, over the Essex River. The Causeway is the center of downtown Essex and is also a major thoroughfare, with 10,000 cars passing over it each day. It is also a critical evacuation route off Cape Ann into Hamilton. The Causeway was elevated by eight inches in 2015, but the road and surrounding businesses continue to experience intermittent flooding, especially during nor’easters.¹⁰

A bridge is constructed on pilings that allows the Essex River to flow through the piers under the bridge. When the road is elevated, 22 buildings lose road frontage.

There are multiple residential roads across Cape Ann that experience sunny day flooding. These roads are weakened by saltwater intrusion and require more frequent repair. A local ordinance disinvesting in roads that repetitively flood more than once in five years would transfer maintenance of these roads to homeowners abutting the roadway. If implemented, residents could pay for the upkeep of these roads or use four-wheel drive to access their properties.¹¹

A deployable flood barrier is installed at the end of Butler Avenue to prevent additional flooding.

Temporary flood barriers are deployed at the end of Butler Avenue during storm events.

Bikers and pedestrians take in views of the Great Marsh over the Essex Causeway Bridge.

As the roads around Gloucester’s Inner Harbor are raised, bioswales are implemented to improve drainage.

The substructure of Thatcher Road provides a landing place for birds in the Good Harbor Marsh.

The costs of maintaining vulnerable infrastructure will increase in the future. Municipalities will be responsible for increasing maintenance budgets.

Critical evacuation routes in the current FEMA floodplain, including Route 128, the Essex Causeway, “The Cut” Bridge at Blynman Canal, and Route 133 (as it enters Manchester-by-the-Sea), should be prioritized in planning for realignment, profile-raising, and elevation.

Communities can disinvest from secondary roadways that repetitively flood by using ordinances that lower design standards and transfer maintenance responsibilities to homeowners. These homeowners may choose to accept responsibility for road maintenance, or to accept liability for road damages and agree to use all-terrain drive.