Baxter Road Alternative Access - Sustainability Programs Manager Update - October 10, 2023

For the last 30 years, several strategies have been implemented to stabilize the bluff at Baxter Road, and by extension the road.

Among the methods used were dewatering and the installation of the current system of geotubes. In the winter of 2013, the geotubes were installed by the Sconset Bluff Preservation Fund with appropriate emergency permits. Further applications and amendments were made in 2015 and 2018, which resulted in the mitigation system currently in use. The existing 947 feet long geotube installation fulfills its intended purpose. However, maintenance has proven challenging and costly. With permitted conditions deteriorating, Nantucket Conservation Commission opted to terminate the project.

In order to explore all possibilities to achieve shoreline stabilization, the Town and SBPF partnered on a Notice of Intent to the Conservation Commission. Though well developed, NOI did not ultimately progress in 2022 and is now restarting in late 2023.

To fulfil possible future legal obligations to homeowners in the area, and to have backup plans in place, the Town began a plan for Alternative Access that would provide property owners direct access to Sankaty Road. The dynamic erosion in this area will ultimately determine what happens to the bluff, roads and property in the area.

The contentious nature of the project with proponents and opponents has made this one of the long running topics of debate on the island. We acknowledge that equitable solutions are not easy to achieve. The Town is diligently working towards a fair resolution which takes into consideration the needs of property owners in the area as well as Nantucket’s fragile coastal environment.

For more information, visit https://www.nantucket-ma.gov/2654/Baxter-Road-Alternative-Access.