Central Waterfront Boardwalk Rehabilitation Project
Newburyport’s central waterfront boardwalk (officially known as the Peter J. Matthews Memorial Boardwalk) was originally built in the late 1970s and extended and re-decked in 2002. The boardwalk is one of the city’s primary civic spaces and is a heavily used destination for boaters, visitors and residents. However, during the past quarter century, a number of decking boards have weathered and deteriorated and have caused increasing trip hazards. This rehabilitation project is intended to cost-effectively and comprehensively rehabilitate the boardwalk’s deteriorated sections in a timely fashion via partial reconstruction at its existing elevation with alternative decking materials and an improved substructure, while maintaining and reusing some material that continues to be in good condition.
The city has completed a feasibility study and secured grant funding for construction. We are now working with marine engineering consultant GEI to conduct permitting and prepare the final plans and specifications so that we can bid the project out in the summer of 2026. We anticipate mobilizing a contractor in the fall of 2026, after the boating season, to conduct the work during the off-season (late fall, winter, and early spring of 2027) so that the boardwalk rehabilitation can be complete by the summer of 2027.
Updates:
January 8, 2026:
The Commonwealth’s Seaport Economic Council (SEC) met on 1/8/26 and voted to approve a $1,492,500 grant to the City of Newburyport for the Boardwalk Rehabilitation Project. (Please see the Governor’s press release regarding the SEC and the 2026 grants here: https://www.mass.gov/news/governor-healey-modernizes-seaport-economic-council-to-strengthen-massachusetts-maritime-economy) This grant will provide critical support for the city to move ahead and address the boardwalk in 2026. A 20%+ local match is required in order to secure the state grant, and the city has made a $285,000 funding request to the Community Preservation Committee (CPC) and requested an accelerated review. Any recommendation by the CPC will then need to be approved by the City Council. In order to stay on track with the overall timeframe, the funding needs to be fully secured, and the permitting, plans, and specifications need to be developed this spring so the project can be bid out in the summer and a contractor mobilized in the fall in order to complete the work by spring 2027. The construction phase of this project has some significant seasonal constraints, as it must be conducted during the fall and winter off-season in order to avoid significant disruption of the annual boating season and the public’s use of the boardwalk during the warm weather months.
November 13, 2025:
The city has scheduled a public meeting on Wednesday November 19 at 7:00pm in the City Hall Auditorium for a presentation from the city’s marine engineering consultant, GEI, and to discuss the options and draft recommendations for rehabilitating the boardwalk. We are attempting to arrange for the meeting to be recorded and subsequently posted for those interested but not available. We will post the slide presentation from the consultant and a summary of the comments and discussion after the meeting. The consultant has provided the city with a DRAFT written alternatives analysis report this week, which is available on this page (see the hypertext link to the left). Comments are welcome to gvining@newburyportma.gov.
The city’s contractor is continuing to make short-term repairs on the boardwalk to address the most immediate public safety issues, including replacing some individual boards. Some of the spans are long enough that pressure-treated southern yellow pine boards are inadequate, and the contractor is securing some 3x8 oak hardwood deck boards to be installed later this month.
October 16, 2025:
A contractor, BTT Marine Construction, has recently pre-drilled and installed about 200 new, coated, longer screws along the boardwalk to fasten down a number of loose boards as a short-term repair. The preservatives in the pressure-treated stringers below the decking had corroded the threads of many of the older fasteners, causing some of the boards to become loose and lifting. While this does not address all of the aging boardwalk’s issues, it is a short-term improvement while the city works to organize a comprehensive rehabilitation. The contractor is also going to replace a handful of the most deteriorated boards with some pressure-treated pine boards of the same dimension in order to provide a patch. Meanwhile, the city’s consultant GEI is working on a written alternatives analysis regarding the best materials to comprehensively rehabilitate the boardwalk, and will meet with city representatives later this month.
September 29, 2025:
The city’s consultant GEI conducted several examinations of the boardwalk’s existing conditions, including taking up the deck boards in half a dozen locations to inspect the underside of the decking plus the pressure-treated timber stringers and concrete and steel foundations. GEI provided their first deliverable of a written memo report detailing the boardwalk’s issues on a plan, characterizing and quantifying the issues, and documenting with a photo log. (The report is available via a hypertext link on the left side of this web page.) It appears that about 90% of the boardwalk’s subsurface stringers and other supports are in satisfactory shape. However, much of the decking is in poor shape, including splintering, rotting, and loose fasteners. Some areas were re-secured at some point with 10” screws, but the screws were found to have corroded threads within the pressure-treated stringers and are no longer able to provide holding strength. While some of the boardwalk decking can be salvaged and re-used, the consultant estimates that about 60% of the boardwalk needs new decking. The Newburyport Waterfront Trust has provided some additional funding to have an experienced contractor re-fasten a number of the raised boards this fall, and the city has submitted a grant application to the state’s Seaport Economic Council for full design and construction.
Next steps:
- GEI is conducting an alternatives analysis regarding the recommended materials to replace these deck boards, such as composite plastic lumber vs. tropical hardwood, etc. The analysis will include assessing the pros and cons of cost, availability, durability, appearance, ecological impact, etc. of each alternative.
- The city anticipates scheduling a public meeting in mid-November to review the consultant’s findings and recommendations.
July 9, 2025:
The city conducted a feasibility study kick-off meeting with GEI Consultants, Inc. in July. The anticipated timeframe for the project includes:
- Conduct on-site systematic assessment of the boardwalk’s surface conditions in late July and subsurface conditions in early August (after Yankee Homecoming).
- Develop alternatives analysis during August through October. Analysis will include pros and cons of different materials, board replacement, stringer repairs, ice and water shield protection, fasteners, etc.
- Schedule public meeting for early November.
- Develop cost estimates and final report recommendations in December before Christmas.
Staff Contacts
| Name | Phone |
|---|---|
| Geordie Vining | (978) 465-4400 ext 6 |