ROCKPORT — A roadway enjoyed by motorists looking to drive along the ocean's edge and catch a glimpse of the town's iconic Twin Lights is now a whole lot easier to travel.

The town has completed temporary repairs of the private portion of Eden Road. And the repairs were carried out at no cost to the street's residents, officials said yesterday, citing a clause in a bylaw that allows patch work using town money on private roads, as long as the street has been used as a public throughway for at least six years.

"It's nice, not compared to a smooth street, but certainly compared to what we had," Eden Road resident Peter Gove said of the town's repairs, completed last Friday.

More than two dozen residents of the partly public, partly private roadway linking South Street to Penzance Road along Rockport's southern shore had met with Public Works officials in August to address the road's "deplorable" condition, and urged the town to complete temporary repairs before the winter season.

Public Works officials were sympathetic to their concerns, but the department's Board of Commissioners, at the time, were unsure if taxpayer money could be used to finance the temporary repairs.

But the town's counsel, the Boston-based law firm Kopelman & Paige, reviewed the bylaw and determined selectmen could approve temporary repairs if the private way abuts at least three full-time residences, is at least 300 feet long, has been open to the public for at least six years — and selectmen agree it should be patched as a matter of "public convenience and necessity."

Public Works Director Joe Parisi said the temporary repairs cost the town approximately $2,000.

Before the temporary repairs were completed, the Department of Public Works garnered the signatures of at least 85 percent of abutters testifying that the road is open to the public, that they agree to the repairs and to not hold the town responsible for any problems related to the repair work.

The commissioners are allowed by the bylaw to require a cash deposit of 75 percent of the total project cost from the abutters prior to beginning the project, but that requirement for the deposit can be waived by a vote at Town Meeting. In this case, the Department of Public Works never sought such a betterment.

Parisi, however, said any more permanent repairs would have to be approved by Town Meeting and paid for by abutters, who would have the choice of hiring private contractors or the town's Public Works crew.

Gove said the approximately 20 abutters understand they will have to pay for permanent repairs and plan to continue meeting over the next several weeks to formulate a long-term resolution. Residents hope engineering and design work can be completed by the end of the winter with an eye toward beginning construction next spring or summer.

Several abutters of the private section of Eden Road, a stretch extending from South Street to Eden Square, have also suggested ceding that portion of the roadway to the town if Rockport will have it.

Parisi said there is a legislative process for towns to assume control of a private way, but it is multifaceted and any such move would eventually need Town Meeting approval.

"Certainly, one of the requirements we'd have is that the road was already in good condition, and it isn't," Parisi said. "There are problems with drainage, causing the (pothole and other surface) problems we see today."

Gove said it's understandable the town would not accept the road until permanent repairs are complete. But he thinks it would be a great asset to Rockport.

"Either the abutters will agree to pay up front and do the work — and hopefully it meets town standards and the town through Town Meeting would accept it as a public way," Gove said, "or the other way is to work closely with the town and have them help with engineering, drainage, and paving and the cost put as a betterment on our tax bills."

"Either way," he added, "the abutters pay."

A poll of the abutters will be conducted to determine which approach they'd most like to take.

"It will be costly in total, but divided by all the abutters, it's not quite such a big nut," Gove said. "It's worth it."

Jonathan L'Ecuyer can be reached at 978-283-7000 x 3451 or jlecuyer@gloucestertimes.com.