A local firm is proposing the construction of a private roadway through a swampy area, which would provide vehicular access from Edmond Road to industrially-zoned acreage that it owns west of Edmond Road.

In an application to the Inland Wetlands Commission (IWC), 5-K Enterprises, Inc, is seeking a wetlands/watercourses protection permit for its proposal to extend a private roadway from Edmond Road through a swamp to the southeastern section of its 23-acre property at 3 Edmond Road. The application paperwork lists the proposed roadway as an "entrance driveway."

The site has M-5 (Industrial) zoning. 5-K has already developed the western section of the site, where some industrial warehouses now stand.

Mapping submitted to the IWC depicts a 24-foot-wide roadway that is approximately 440 feet long. The sloping road would have curbing and stormwater catch basins.

Because the swampy area has standing water, a 36-foot-long reinforced-concrete box culvert would be positioned beneath the private road to allow water to flow below the roadway. That culvert would be five feet tall and eight feet wide.

Earthen filling would be needed to create a roadbed through the swamp.

The information submitted by the applicant only concerns roadway construction, not the project for which the access road would be built.

Steve Maguire, the town land use agency's senior enforcement officer, said the IWC will seek a "wetlands impact report" from the applicant to learn the environmental effects of the project.

Also, the applicant will be asked to submit a "mitigation plan" to describe what measures would be taken to compensate for the loss of wetlands associated with the proposed road construction. Such mitigation could include the removal of invasive plants at the site, the placement of supplemental plantings, and the creation of "new" wetlands to compensate for lost wetlands, Mr Maguire said.

The creation of new wetlands involves certain earthmoving, which reshapes the terrain to create physical conditions that are conducive to future wetlands formation.

IWC members plan to hold a public hearing on the road building proposal at their July 26 meeting.