Fencing went up around the 1856 lighthouse this week as final preparations begin for move. Timothy Johnson
With the ground thawing and spring in the air, final preparations for the Gay Head Light relocation project have begun. Archaeologists have completed a survey of the site and the U.S. Coast Guard plans to install a temporary beacon today, weather permitting.
The last day to visit the lighthouse in its current location will be Saturday from 2 to 5 p.m. Town officials expect the actual move to begin sometime in May.
An excavation area around the lighthouse has been staked out and a number of square pits that were dug by Public Archaeology Lab of Pawtucket, R.I., have been filled in. “You can’t even tell they were there,” Len Butler, chairman of the lighthouse relocation committee, said Monday.
A large area surrounding the 1856 lighthouse, along with a portion of Aquinnah Circle, has been fenced off. A sign near the lighthouse reads, “Closed for the Season.” Traffic may pass through from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., but may be held up as materials are carried to and from the site. The VTA will have a temporary bus stop at the foot of the circle for use between 7 p.m. and midnight.
In February, the lighthouse was formally transferred from the U.S. General Services Administration to the town, ending a yearlong process involving local, state and federal authorities. The U.S. Coast Guard had declared the lighthouse surplus property in 2013.