(Leverett, MA) The Leverett Selectboard voted to move forward with the process of permenantly discontinuing most of the public portion of Rattlesnake Gutter Road so the road may be used mainly as a recreational trail, opening up potential grant funding sources. The grant funding could provide the resources to repair the roadway so emergency responders may use it to access all parts of the town and neighboring mutual aid communities.
The board’s decision was not unanimously supported by all of the community; the Leverett Police and Fire Chiefs wrote a letter calling for the opening of the road so emergency responders may quickly access all of the town as well as providing mutual aid to neighboring communities. Reopening the road may still be an option as an engineer is expected to estimate costs for infrastructure repairs.