I hope you all had a peaceful and reflective Memorial Day weekend.

Construction activities continue to ramp up as we enter the unofficial beginning of summer. I’m working on revamping my email lists to create different segments for folks who like traffic and construction updates, folks who want legislative updates, folks who just want to know about upcoming meetings, etc. But for now, I wanted to put out a quick note about all the construction that will be happening this week so you can plan ahead.

Below you will find contractor’s reports of planned construction activities for the week of 29 May 2018 in and around Ward 2, as provided by our Engineering Department. Major activities include:

Pavement Management Program – D&R Paving

• Pavement milling (the act of removing the top 2-inches of old pavement prior to final paving) will take place on Lowell Street between Broadway and Somerville Avenue requiring parking restrictions and road closure. Please note that detours for this work and work on Cedar Street will happen simultaneously, so higher than normal volumes on Willow, Central and Porter Streets can be expected next week.
• Pavement milling will take place on Bolton Street between Oak and Houghton requiring parking restrictions and road closure.
• Pavement milling will take place on White Street between Elm Street and the Cambridge Line requiring parking restrictions and road closure.

Beacon Street Road Reconstruction – MassDOT and Newport Construction

• Miscellaneous sidewalk construction on Beacon Street between Roseland Street and Oxford Street requiring parking restrictions.
• Full depth roadway construction on Beacon Street between Dickinson and Concord requiring parking restrictions and alternating traffic.

Gas Main Replacement – Eversource

• Eversource gas main replacement in Union Square including the Plaza and Sanborn Court requiring parking and traffic restrictions.
• Eversource gas main replacement on Oak Street between Houghton and Prospect Streets requiring parking restrictions and road closure to non-abutters. Note that Eversource work on Oak Street will not start until D&R Paving is complete with Bolton Street.

Somerville Avenue Utility and Streetscape Improvements – Barletta Heavy Division

• Excavation of test pits on Somerville Avenue between Bow and Medford Streets requiring parking and traffic restrictions.
• Preconstruction surveys.
• Removal of nine trees, generally in the area of the Plaza.

Gore Street Cambridge Sewer – J. Derenzo

• Relocation of water main in Medford Street between South Street and the Cambridge city line requiring water shutoffs, parking restrictions, and one-way alternating traffic. The coordination of this work with GLX and activities on Gore Street, Cambridge require extended working hours including 7 to 7 on weekdays and 9 to 7 on Saturdays.

If you foresee or encounter any issues with construction activities – or if you see road-affecting utility work that isn’t on this list –  please contact Jesse Moos at 617.625.6600 x5419. Also please note that they now have an email address construction@somervillema.gov that goes to select staff in both the Engineering and Communications departments. That email address is the best one for anyone with construction-related feedback or questions to use.

Thanks,

-JTS