March 20, 2026 By Carol Britton Meyer
The select board this week supported a warrant article for the upcoming town meeting related to the $38.2 million Route 3A improvement project, which has been in the works for more than a decade, and another that would authorize but not require the board to dispose of the town-owned Lincoln School Apartments property.
Passage of the Route 3A-related article would allow the select board to petition the state legislature to pass a Special Act under Article 97 allowing the board to grant temporary and permanent easements over existing Town of Hingham park and conservation parcels to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation for the construction of the project. Full details will be included in the warrant that will be mailed to every Hingham household prior to the April 27/28 town meeting, or provided as supplementary material at the meeting.
Route 3A Task Force member Deirdre Anderson called the passage of the article a “critical” step in the process.
Article 97 of the Amendments to the Massachusetts Constitution, approved in 1972, protects public conservation lands. It requires a two-thirds vote of both branches of the state legislature for any disposal or change in use of land acquired for natural resource protection or recreation.
State and federal funding covering most of the costs
The town’s prior investments of $800,000 for initial engineering and design costs – earlier approved by town meeting – were necessary to initiate the project. To complete the project, the state is paying $2 million toward the design, and the state and federal governments are funding the $35. in construction costs.
Town Engineer J.R. Frey provided an update on the 1.7-mile Route 3A project, which will “improve traffic safety throughout the corridor, with accommodations for pedestrians and cyclists, and achieves multiple master plan goals.”
Other benefits of the project – which stretches from the former lobster pound on Route 3A to Muzzi’s Corner – include neighborhood connectivity from Crow Point to the downtown area and around the roundabout and past Martin’s Lane.
The current rotary will be reconfigured into a modern roundabout that will improve safety and accessibility for all transportation modes.
The project – which includes improvements at the Broad Cove/Otis Street, bathing beach, and North Street/3A intersections – will also activate and increase accessibility to the harbor area and will feature a shared use path along part of the waterfront.
Anderson explained that the role of the task force “once we’re past the town meeting vote, which is very critical, and gaining legislative approval” is to reintroduce the project “to the new generations of citizens who have moved to town [since its inception] and begin socializing what will be a four-year project during the spring, summer, and fall months. There will be many pain points [due to its complexity] but [in the end it will be worth it].”
Ramsey commended the task force for its work over the past decade and Frey for his “stewardship of the project.”
Besides Anderson, task force members include Chair Judy Sneath, Bryce Blair, Paul Healey, and Alan Perrault.
For more information about the project, go to https://www.hingham-ma.gov/795/Route-3A-Task-Force.
Board supports Lincoln School Apartments-related warrant article
The board also supported another article that if approved, would authorize but not require the board to dispose of the town-owned Lincoln School Apartments (LSA) property — which provides 60 affordable rental apartments for seniors and individuals with disabilities – through a sale, lease, or other conveyance.
A key priority is the requirement of a deed restriction or other assurances related to continued affordability and non-displacement of current residents.
The vote was unanimous following a number of earlier meetings that featured presentations by Hingham Affordable Housing Trust Chair Jack Falvey explaining all the details.
(Go to https://www.hinghamanchor.com/neighbors-express-concerns-about-possible-sale-of-lincoln-school-apartments-town-meeting-will-decide/ for more information).
The vote was delayed from last week at the request of Select Board Chair William Ramsey, to allow time for him to do research on various facets of the article.
From that research, he determined that restrictions could be included in the Request for Proposals for the use of the property that would help preserve the affordability of the LSA and protect the rights of the current tenants as well as protect the neighbors “to the maximum extent possible.”
If the article passes, select board member Julie Strehle noted that this would be the first step in “a multi-year, multi-step process” and that the select board “would work on an RFP that addresses [the concerns that have been voiced during recent meetings] and protects the current residents and the interests of the neighborhood.”