With excavation work around the Gay Head Light expected to begin next week, several traffic changes planned for Aquinnah Circle. The last day to visit the lighthouse before its relocation will be April 11.
A large area surrounding the lighthouse, along with a portion of the road at Aquinnah Circle, will be fenced off beginning around April 15, with vehicles allowed to pass only between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Traffic will occasionally be held up as steel cross beams and other construction materials are carried across the road.
“These delays will occur infrequently enough so as to not dramatically interfere with the flow of traffic,” Aquinnah town administrator Adam Wilson said in a statement.
After 7 p.m., the fenced-in area will be locked and traffic will become two-way on the south side of the circle, with a turn-around area near the fence on the other side. The Vineyard Transit Authority will use a temporary bus stop near the intersection of State and Lighthouse roads from 7 p.m. to midnight.
Parking near the circle will also be limited. The pay parking lot on Moshup Trail will be closed to vehicles and used as a storage area, and parking spaces near the shops at the top of the circle will be limited to those spots that are angled in.
The resident parking area near the public restrooms will be open to the public during the project.
Signs will be posted to help direct traffic, and construction workers will direct vehicles through the fenced-in area. Police officers will also be available to answer questions.
“Excavation trucks, landscaping and structural moving personnel will be everywhere during this historic project,” the statement says. “Heavy equipment traffic will be a constant between the lighthouse site and the pay parking lot.”
The U.S. Coast Guard plans this week to install a temporary metal beacon at the overlook beyond the shops, with an LED light that will begin flashing during the week of April 13.
The original 1859 lighthouse will be open for visits free of charge on April 11 from 2 to 5 p.m. before the lighthouses closes temporarily for the move to a spot about 190 feet from eroding cliffs.
Town officials expect the relocation of the lighthouse to begin in late May.
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