Essex pursues $1.3 million federal grant to study causeway flood solutions

ESSEX -- January 29, 2025, Essex Causeway faces daily tidal flooding by 2050, new regional study warns. Town Administrator Brendan Zubricki hosted a January 29 public forum at which the Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization presented a technical assistance study, valued at roughly $20,000, showing Route 133's causeway fully inundated under current major-storm scenarios and potentially flooding at every high tide by 2050 under NOAA's projection of one and a half feet of sea level rise. Traffic modeling using the Replica platform projected Apple Street absorbing up to 5,000 additional vehicles daily if the causeway closes, a volume the road's tight turns may not safely handle. The study now feeds a federal PROTECT grant application, co-submitted with MassDOT and seeking approximately $1.3 million, due no later than February 24, which would fund a full engineering alternatives analysis. Business owners at the forum warned of permanent closures and unaffordable insurance, while residents demanded that emergency access to the western half of town be preserved regardless of what solution is ultimately chosen.