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May 2023 - Construction Season in Full Bloom

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

The 2023 construction season is in full swing, May is coming to a close, and green stormwater infrastructure on Somerville Ave. is in full bloom.

We're back to help keep you informed about construction and infrastructure across the city.

What We're Sharing This Month:

New Sidewalks in East Somerville (Pearl Street Reconstruction Progress)
Spring Tree Planting Season
Partial Paving Projects Underway
Community Path Extension Detour
Subterranean Somerville - What Lies Beneath Lincoln Park
Keeping Up-to-date (Because we can't cover everything in one email.)

First New Sidewalks of the Season Arrive on Pearl St.

Since late March, City contractors have been making progress on the reconstruction of Pearl Street (Mount Vernon St. to McGrath Hwy.).

During this initial phase of work, crews have successfully installed new sidewalks between Mount Vernon Ave. and Myrtle Street. Check out some of the new sidewalks below. (Note the tree pits being prepared for plantings later this year.)

In addition to sidewalk and roadway reconstruction on Pearl Street, this project will bring traffic calming features such as speed humps, raised crossings, and Somerville’s first neighborhood traffic circles.

Visit the project webpage to learn more about safety improvements around Pearl St. and stay up-to-date as work progresses.

Learn More

Spring Tree Planting Begins

Somerville’s Public Space and Urban Forestry Division’s 2023 Spring Tree Planting Season began the first week of May and will continue through June.

Tree Planting Map

175 trees are currently slated to be planted this season.

Find our full plantings map below to see where Somerville’s newest prunus yedoensis and nyssa sylvatica will be arriving.

View the Map

How You Can Help

Newly planted urban trees face a number of challenges, but you can help!

Get tips on how you can help the Urban Forestry Division care for the City's publicly-owned trees.

Learn More

Partial Paving Underway

Over recent weeks, City contractors have been preparing the travel lanes of a number of streets across Somerville in preparation for paving by removing the top few layers of asphalt in a process known as milling.

Paving is expected to take place next week from June 2-6, weather permitting.

This work is part of the City’s partial paving program through which our contractor repaves the travel lane, but not the parking lane. This approach, when paired with our complete streets reconstruction projects, increases the number of streets we can pave in a given year.

Streets included in this round of paving include:

Acadia Park from Somerville Avenue to End of Street
Chandler Street from Park Avenue to Broadway
Crescent Street from Cambridge Street to Hadley Street
Douglas Avenue from Edgar Avenue to End of Street
Giles Park from Walnut Street to End of Street
Hudson Street from Central Street to Cedar Street
Lewis Street from Magnus Avenue to End of Street
Mondamin Court from Ivaloo Street to Harrison Street
Oak Street from Prospect Street to 550' N of Cambridge city line
Taunton Street from Wyatt Street to Marion Street
Teele Street from Packard Avenue to Curtis Street
Thorpe Street from Highland Avenue to End of Street
Whitfield Road from Packard Avenue to Curtis Street
Windom Street from Elm Street to Summer Street

Community Path Detour - Temporary Protected Bike Lanes

Following the opening of the Community Path Extension (latest target from the MBTA is mid-June), the segment of the path between School St. and the Gilman Square Green Line station entrance at Medford St. will remain closed to all users to accommodate safe construction of the new Somerville High School Phillip Reavis Field.

To provide a safe and accessible route that reconnects users with the community path, City contractors and Department of Public Works staff have installed temporary two-way protected bike lanes along School St. and Medford St.

During the segment closure, two-way protected bike lanes will provide a safe and accessible route that reconnects both eastbound and westbound users with the community path. To facilitate the use of these temporary bike lanes westbound vehicle traffic on Medford St. between Walnut St. and Pearl St. will be detoured.

Full detours maps and additional information are available here.

The City will share the final Community Path Extension opening date at the link below and through other City channels once the MBTA announces it.

Learn More

Subterranean Somerville:

What Lies Beneath Lincoln Park

What is a rainwater cistern?

In 2018 Somerville cut the ribbon on major renovations at Lincoln Park. By now you are probably familiar with the skatepark, playground, basketball courts, and gardens, but are you familiar with the nearly 20,000 gallon rainwater harvesting cistern that lives under the Argenziano School Playground?

Rainwater that falls on the school’s roof is directed to this underground storage tank via the school’s gutters. Rainwater is then held in the storage container until it is needed to water the fields and planting beds in the surrounding park. Capturing this water helps slow down the amount of rainwater that gets put into the storm drains, while also giving parks a more sustainable way to irrigate the fields and plant beds.

How You Can Stay Up- To-Date on Citywide Construction Projects

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:

Visit our new construction pag e - A comprehensive look at work across the city.

Other Projects to Keep an Eye on:

Spring Hill Sewer Separation

Work continues on Spring Hill with underground utility work progressing on School St., Oxford St. and Gibbens St. and streetscape restoration beginning on Avon St.

Poplar St. Pump Station

City contractors have started work at 10 Poplar Street. The initial phase of work includes establishing site-perimeter fencing and preparing for excavation.

Powder House Boulevard/Alewife Brook Parkway Intersection Reconstruction

Drainage installation and sewer utility work continues along Alewife Brook Parkway between Broadway and High Street.

National Grid and Eversource Utility Work

Eversource and National Grid are working to replace gas mains throughout the city. Visit our construction page at the link above to see where work is planned for the 2023 construction season.

Have questions?

Get in touch

Want to learn more about these projects? Or have questions about work in your neighborhood?

construction@somervillema.gov

Language and Accessibility

To request translation or an interpreter in your language, please contact the SomerViva Office of Immigrant Affairs at somervillema.gov/contactsomerviva or call 311.

ADA icon with four sections depicting ASL mobility TTY and CART services

Persons with disabilities who need auxiliary aids or reasonable modifications to access information or attend a City meeting or event should contact Adrienne Pomeroy at 617-625-6600 x 2059 or ADA@somervillema.gov.