CONCORD, Mass. – The Massachusetts Department of Transportation – Highway Division (MassDOT) is seeking a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District to conduct work in waters of the U.S. in conjunction with a rail extension project in Dennis and Yarmouth, Mass.
The proposed work involves the excavation of 2,150 cubic yards of material over a 13,135-square-foot area below Mean High Water (MHW), and the discharge of 9,300 square feet of fill material below the High Tide Line (HTL), associated with the Cape Cod Rail Trail Extension Project over the Bass River in Dennis and Yarmouth. The project would add a 3.7-mile extension to the existing Cape Cod Rail Trail shared use path, beginning at the current trail terminus at Route 134 in Dennis and ending at Peter Homer Park on Old Town House Road in Yarmouth.
The work in waters of the U.S. is limited to work associated with the construction of a pedestrian bridge over the Bass River, and related channel restoration/widening work. A former railroad bridge in the same location was removed in 2010, though original abutments remain in place. The project proposes to remove the existing abutments, excavate material from behind the abutments to create a wider channel opening, dredge within high portions of the channel to establish a channel depth of nine feet at Mean Low Water (MLW), install rip-rap slope protection, and construct a new pedestrian bridge with new abutments located in upland areas landward of the original abutments. The channel will be widened from its current 60-foot width to approximately 114 feet wide at MHW.
The U.S. Coast Guard is the permitting authority for the bridge structure and location. For this project, the Corps only has permitting authority over the placement of fill material, and the excavation/dredging related to channel restoration, in waters of the U.S., including wetlands. The application for the federal permit was filed with the Corps in compliance with Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act, which provides for federal regulation of any work in, or affecting navigable waters of the U.S.; and with Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, which regulates the discharge or fill of material in U.S. waters, including wetlands. The public notice, with more specifics on the proposed work, can be viewed on the Corps website at: http://www.nae.usace.army.mil/Missions/Regulatory/PublicNotices.aspx.
Public comments on this proposed work (file #NAE-2013-01908) should be forwarded no later than March 26, 2015 to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District, Regulatory Division (ATTN: Dan Vasconcelos), 696 Virginia Road, Concord, MA 01742-2751. Additional information is available from Permit Project Manager Dan Vasconcelos at 978-318-8653 or toll free 800-343-4789 or 800-362-4367 (if calling from within Massachusetts) or by email to: daniel.b.vasconcelos@usace.army.mil.