Welcome to the weekly Right-of-Way construction update email for the
week of July 16th. As a reminder, this summary email is intended to keep
city departments and officials whose operations and constituents may be
impacted by construction informed of those activities at a citywide,
high level. Please note that these highlights_ may not _paint the full
picture of upcoming work for a particular project, and therefore
project-specific information is best reviewed at individual project
websites, or by contacting the Communications Construction Public
Information Officer, Erica Mace (at x2615), for full details. Highlights
for the next week include:
Gas Main Replacement – Eversource
* Eversource gas main replacement on Prospect Street between
Somerville Ave and Bennet Court and on Everett Street near Newton Street
requiring parking and traffic restrictions including lane shifts and
alternating traffic.
* Eversource gas main and service connection replacements on Powder
House Blvd between Curtis Street and Alewife Brook Parkway requiring
parking and traffic restrictions. Remaining work is primarily west of
North Street.
* Eversource gas service replacement on Oak Street between Houghton and
Prospect Streets requiring parking restrictions and road closure to
non-abutters.
* Eversource gas main replacement on Hawthorne Street between Cutter
and Willow Avenues requiring parking restrictions and road closure to
non-abutters.
* Eversource gas main replacement on Foskett Street between Willow Ave
and Liberty Road requiring parking restrictions and road closure to
non-abutters. Please note that due to ledge, Eversource anticipates work
on Foskett will be protracted.
* Eversource gas services replacement on Meacham Road between Buena
Vista Avenue and the Cambridge city line requiring parking restrictions
and road closure to non-abutters.
Cedar Street Sewer Separation – P. Gioioso & Sons
* Sidewalk construction on Cedar Street between Elm Street and Summer
Street requiring parking restrictions and closure of Cedar Street to
through traffic.
Somerville Avenue Utility and Streetscape Improvements – Barletta Heavy
Division
* Water and sewer realignments in Somerville Ave between Bow and
Prospect Streets and in the Plaza requiring parking restrictions and
lane shifts.
* Cleaning and inspection of sewers in Somerville Ave between Bow and
Medford Streets requiring parking restrictions and lane shifts.
Gore Street Cambridge Sewer – J. Derenzo
* Water and sewer installation in Medford Street between South Street
and the Cambridge city line requiring parking restrictions, and one-way
alternating traffic.
Pavement Management Program – D&R Paving
* Sidewalk construction on Cedar Street between Broadway and Highland
Avenue requiring parking restrictions and partial closures of the
street. Weather and other factors permitting, sidewalk work will be
complete late next week or early the following week. Roadway resurfacing
will occur later in the summer or early in the fall to coincide with
other resurfacing work. In the meantime, we will be providing a
temporary centerline stripe to help drivers navigate the new slalom
movement around the chicanes and new parking pattern.
* Please note that the Powder House Boulevard construction crew has to
attend an emergency outside of Somerville; therefore, sidewalk
construction there will not occur next week.
Sewer System Evaluation Study – Somerville Sewer Department, Weston &
Sampson, and NWMCC
· Sewer investigations in the area bound by Broadway, Holland
Street, and Davis Square requiring parking restrictions and temporary
traffic impacts.
Keolis – MBTA Track Improvements
· Please note that Keolis is currently performing track
improvements both in anticipation of the GLX project and for regular
maintenance. Dating back to original railway licenses, the City does not
have any jurisdiction over activities within the rail right of way. As
such, we unfortunately do not have any advance updates to share
regarding that work, which has often included night activities. As the
construction transitions from Keolis to GLX-Constructors, with whom we
are developing relationships, we hope to be in a better position to
provide those.
Beacon Street Road Reconstruction – MassDOT and Newport Construction
* Roadway reconstruction will be on hold until Eversource addresses
gas leak issues and repairs patches generated by gas leak fixes over the
duration of the project.
Gas Main Replacement – National Grid
* National Grid is currently on lockout due to contract negotiations.
As such National Grid is not anticipated to be working next week.
There are several ways to report issues with construction activities.
Engineering’s Construction Liaison & Compliance Manager, Jesse Moos,
works directly with contractors to mitigate any concerns or issues
related to projects under Engineering’s purview. Jesse can be reached at
617-625-6600 x5419. Please note that given the low projected
construction schedule next week, Jesse will be taking couple of very
well deserved vacations days on Monday and Tuesday, so please direct any
urgent calls to the main Engineering line, x5400. Additionally, the
City’s overall construction management and feedback team is available by
emailing construction@somervillema.gov. This email address is primarily
managed by Erica Mace, but also goes directly to Jesse as well as myself
and Jackie Rossetti. This email address can and should be used by staff
and community members alike for quick issue resolution.
As always, thanks for your attention and support as we build a better
Somerville!
Regards,
Richard E. Raiche, PE, PMP
Director of Engineering
City of Somerville
1 Franey Road, Somerville, MA 02145