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The Essex Heritage Scenic Byway is a 64-mile Y-shaped Byway which travels through 13 communities in Essex County, including the Town of Swampscott. The Byway is also located within the Essex National Heritage Area, designated by the U.S. Congress in 1992 to recognize the significance of the region's abundant historical, cultural and natural resources. For a project status report dated January 2010 click here: Overview -- Swampscott
The Essex Heritage Scenic Byway is designated as a state scenic byway. In April 2009, with funding from the Federal Highway Administration’s National Scenic Byway Program and the Massachusetts Executive Office of Transportation and Public Works, the Essex National Heritage Commission launched an initiative that will result in the creation of a corridor management plan (CMP) for the byway.
Developed with substantial community involvement, an effective corridor management plan will identify strategies for preserving and enhancing the byway’s scenic, cultural, historic, recreational, and natural qualities, and for promoting and marketing the byway, including local businesses, visitor sites and attractions. In addition to being a useful tool for the communities, a corridor management plan is a prerequisite for attaining designation as a National Scenic Byway, which will bring added recognition and possibly additional federal funding to the route and the region.
Swampscott has taken an active role in the project, through volunteer participants in the Project's Corridor Advisory Group (CAG) and Local Advisory Group (LAG).
Also read the recent write-up in the Salem Gazette on the Byway published on 11/17/09:
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