By Bruno Matarazzo Jr.
PEABODY — The long-term plans to fix the downtown area plagued by flooding are meant to get the city through a "50-year flood," or 5.4 inches of rain in 24 hours.
On Saturday, they made it half way there.
Arthur Francis, a professor of weather and climate at Salem State College, said he measured 2.24 inches of rain.
That rain, from the remnants of Hurricane Ida, caused street flooding on roads in Peabody.
Police and the public works departments had to shut down Endicott Street and Central Street. There was also flooding on Summit Street, Route 114 near Starbucks and Route 128 by the Route 114 junction.
The rain in no way compared to May 2006, when much of the downtown area was flooded.
The flooding remedy involves three phases: twin underground culverts from Foster Street to Peabody Square; widening a 1,600-foot stretch of the North River; and widening a portion of the river that extends into Salem.
The improvements aren't expected to be completed until 2012.
— Bruno Matarazzo
