Welcome back to the City of Somerville's construction newsletter!

New raised crossing by the Argenziano School (part of our Western Washington Street project) slows vehicles and makes crossing safer and more comfortable for all people.

It's back-to-school season in Somerville. Consider this newsletter a lesson on all the work underway to maintain and improve our city's essential infrastructure.

As always, if you have any questions about the work below (or any work in the city) please don't hesitate to reach out to us at construction@somervillema.gov

What We're Sharing This Month: 

• Paving and Sidewalk Management Program (and Map!)
• More Paving Coming to Highland Ave.
• Back to School on Washington Street
• West Somerville Sewer Rehab Progress
• New Mural at the Osgood Stairs
• Subterranean Somerville: What is geotechnical investigation?

The quality of our streets is important. Our roadways, sidewalks, and bicycle facilities enable us to visit our family and friends–they help us get to school, work, parks and playgrounds, our healthcare providers, and more.

These streets must work for everyone–regardless of age and ability. Since 2015, the City has taken a data-driven approach to support the street and sidewalk improvement selection process. Through a multi-stage analysis, the City is able to effectively prioritize safety, accessibility, and equity, while delivering cost-effective results.

Construction Liaison, Jesse Moos, stands triumphantly on newly laid (but cooled!) asphalt.

Liberty Ave. with recently paved roadway and newly built sidewalks. Note the bumpout to accommodate the large mature tree while maintaining accessibility.

To help show which streets have been paved recently, which streets are up next, and which streets we’re planning to pave within the next five years, we’ve created an interactive map you can explore.

We’ve also included information about the different types of paving projects we undertake and how we go about determining which streets and sidewalks will be reconstructed next. 

Staying on the subject of paving, contractors from the City's Spring Hill Sewer Separation have been working hard to prepare Highland Avenue for a second stretch of travel lane paving. This time between School Street and Benton Rd. 

Paving is currently scheduled to take place overnight beginning Sunday, September 15 at approximately 8 p.m. and ending Monday, September 16 at approximately 7 a.m. (Schedule subject to change due to weather or other factors.)

This partial paving, which does not include the parking areas next to the curbs, is intended to restore the road surface travel areas. This is an interim measure to support safe travel for all users of the road until the full redesign and reconstruction of Highland Avenue.

Thanks to the community for its immense patience as we’ve worked to upgrade utilities (sewer, drainage, water, gas) underneath Highland Avenue. The new utilities represent a major investment in the future of the neighborhood and now that they are complete we look forward to smoother travel ahead.

Additional notification will be provided ahead of paving. More info will be shared at somervillema.gov/springhill and through other City channels. 

One of many reasons Washington Street between Webster Avenue and Line Street was prioritized for reconstruction is that the project provided the opportunity to improve safety for the Argenziano School community. 

Crews worked hard throughout the summer to deliver some of the planned safety improvements and make enough progress so they’d be out of the immediate vicinity by the time students and their families would be returning for the new school year.

What has been completed?

• Final paving of the roadway between Webster Avenue and Bowdoin Street. 
• New sidewalks on both sides of Washington Street between Webster Avenue and Bowdoin Street.
• Raised intersections along Washington Street between Parker Street and the Argenziano School and at the intersection of Washington Street and Hawkins Street.
• Raised intersections slow vehicle traffic and make it safer for all people crossing the street.
• Floating bus stops between Bowdoin Street and Webster Avenue.

New floating bus stop provides dedicated waiting and boarding areas for bus riders, while streamlining bus service.

New raised crossing by the Argenziano School slows vehicles and makes crossing safer and more comfortable for all.

What work remains?

• Construction of remaining sidewalks (Bowdoin Street to Line Street). 
• Paving of the roadway surface between Bowdoin Street and Line Street.
• Additional raised crossings and floating bus stops.
• Completion of street- and sidewalk-level protected bike lanes.
• among other safety improvements. 

Crews plan to continue work into the fall with the goal of reaching substantial completion by the end of this construction season.

Since June crews have been working to rehabilitate sewers throughout west Somerville. Crews have nearly completed open-trench repair work during which crews dig to expose existing pipe, remove the defective section or full length of pipe, and then install new pipe. Open-trench work remains on the below streets: 

• Crest Hill Road (Anticipated start this September)
• Shore Hill Drive (Ongoing)
• Fairfax Street (Work expected to resume in September)

Since early August, crews have been undertaking trenchless (not requiring digging) repairs to select portions of sewer and drainage infrastructure. This work uses flexible liners and coating to improve existing infrastructure without needing to break ground. Trenchless work remains on the following streets.

All schedules are tentative and subject to change. Affected residents will receive confirmation via flyer prior to the start of work.

In 2022 the City’s Capital Projects Division set out to repair the staircase connecting Osgood Street (and Osgood Park) with Landers Street. While work to repair the concrete and install new rails and fencing was completed that September, finishing touches were only recently applied in the form of a new mural.

The new artwork was installed by the muralist Nxnandres Duarte and youth from the Mayor’s Summer Jobs program with the support of the Somerville Arts Council.

The seals will be missed (by those who remember the previous mural), but the new artwork is a great cherry on top of an updated, safer staircase.

There is a lot of work being done in Somerville as we look to modernize and improve our city’s infrastructure, and we can’t cover it all in one email.

Stay up-to-date with what’s going on in your neighborhood and around the city via the following channels: 

• Sign up for City Alerts - Receive important notifications about work in your area.

• Follow us on Twitter - Tweets about curb-cuts, culverts, and more.

• Visit our new construction page - A comprehensive look at work across the city.

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