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

The view from atop City Hall as roof repairs are underway.

Crocuses showing themselves through freshly thawed earth, the warbling of migratory birds, the sound of a jackhammer breaking through aging concrete—these things mean spring is here in Somerville.  

We know construction sometimes (often) gets a bad rap and fully understand the challenges that come with living around significant work. And while construction is a given of life in a dynamic city, we want to make sure you know what is happening, where it's happening, and how it ultimately benefits our city. That's what this monthly email is for.

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: 

• Pavement and Sidewalk Improvements - Work Around the City
• Spring Hill Sewer Separation – Work Underway on Lower Summer St. 
• Roof/Clock Tower Repairs at City Hall and 90/92 Union Square
• Poplar Street – Putting a Lid on 4 Million Gallons of Stormwater Storage
• Subterranean Somerville – Green Stormwater Infrastructure (including a new map!)

Warmer spring temperatures means new concrete and asphalt can be installed to improve the quality of our sidewalks and roadways. Crews have mobilized across the city to increase accessibility and safety for everyone using our streets.  

Holland Street -- Davis and Teele Square

City contractors have returned to Holland Street to finish reconstructing sidewalks, pave segments of the roadway, and install a new raised intersection at Holland Street/Irving Street/Thorndike Street. 

Raised Intersections at Oak St. and Houghton St./Hanson St. and Skehan St. 

Crews are actively working to build new raised intersections in Ward 2. Raised crossings make our streets safer and more comfortable for everyone. Since they are elevated (roughly to sidewalk height), people driving must slow down as they approach the crossing. 

Example of similar raised intersection at Washington Street and Hansen Street.

Other Streetscape Work on the Horizon

In addition to the work already underway, the below projects are also currently expected to get underway during the 2025 Construction Season.

New Sidewalks and Curb-to-Curb Paving 

• Gorham Street (from Holland St. to Howard St.)  
• Meacham Road (from Dover St. to Cambridge City Line)  
• Otis Street (from McGrath Hwy. to Cross St.)  
• Perry Street (from Washington St. to Marion St.)  
• Speed humps and raised crossings to follow repaving. 

Intersection Improvements - Additional Information

• Somerville Ave./Central St. 
• Washington St. at Merriam St.  
• Bow Street/Walnut Street 

Complete Street Projects 

These projects consist of the wholesale redesign and reconstruction of streets to improve safety and accessibility for all users of the road.

• Tufts Street Reconstruction
• West Broadway Reconstruction

Interested in learning more about how we prioritize pavement and sidewalk work? Visit our paving and sidewalk management program page.

The final season of construction on Spring Hill is here—substantial completion project-wide is expected by the end of June. The bulk of the remaining work is concreted on lower Summer Street between Bow Street and School Street. 

Visit the project website for more info and updates as we move toward the conclusion of this once in a lifetime infrastructure project.  

Taking a few minutes to look up above our streets at some of Somerville’s historic municipal buildings—roof repairs are underway at both City Hall and 90/92 Union Square.  

City Hall Clock Tower and Roof Repairs  

Since November, City contractors have been working to repair City Hall’s clock tower and install a new slate roof. These repairs will help protect the structure and architectural details of the City’s historic city hall (originally constructed in 1852).   

As part of this effort, the tower’s weathervane as well as clock faces and mechanism have been sent offsite for restoration. Below you can see the clock mechanism before and after this process.  

Clock mechanism prior to restoration

Clock mechanism after restoration

Meanwhile, crews continue to make important repairs to the building’s slate roof. This work is expected to continue through the spring and into the summer season.  

Close-up of slate roof repairs at City Hall

90/92 Union Square

Repairs to the roof of 90/92 Union Square, a former firehouse that dates to the late 1880s, are being undertaken as an interim measure to prevent further water damage to the structure from taking place.  

These repairs will necessitate the removal of the clock tower from the building. The clock faces and mechanisms will be retained for potential future use. Demolition of the clock tower is currently underway.

Demolition work underway at 90/92 Union Square

Late last month, City contractors successfully poured the 900 cubic yard concrete slab roof for the City’s new 4 million gallon stormwater storage tank.  

The interior of the tank prior to roof installation

The top of the tank following installation of the concrete roof

Having reached this critical milestone in the tank’s construction, crews are now working to excavate the portion of the site that will host the pump station itself. When complete, this pump station will have the capacity to move up to 50 million gallons of water per day. 

So why do we need a pump? This project enables the City to connect to the nearby MBTA drainage system–expanding system capacity. However, the MBTA system drainage system is higher than the City’s, so we need a pump to move that stormwater up approximately 45 feet to facilitate the connection.

If you’ve walked along Summer street recently you might have seen the work progressing on the city’s newest stormwater bump-out (or bioretention basin). 

Green stormwater infrastructure installation underway at corner of Summer/Quincy Streets

These landscaped areas collect, treat, and temporarily store stormwater. To learn more about how these stormwater bumpouts and other green stormwater systems (infiltration trenches, porous pavement, etc.) function, visit our new green stormwater infrastructure page. While you're there, explore an interactive map highlighting where GSI currently exists around Somerville.

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 BlueSky - Posts about curb-cuts, culverts, and more.

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

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