Morrison Avenue - Flood Relief, Water Quality Improvements, and Streetscape Safety Improvements

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Project Overview

The City of Somerville is making substantial systemwide investments to modernize its sewer and stormwater infrastructure. As part of this effort, the City will be installing new drainage infrastructure and rehabilitating the existing sewer system along Morrison Avenue (between Cedar Street and Grove St.) as well as throughout the surrounding neighborhood. This project will reduce flood risk in the surrounding area and help maintain the water quality of local rivers.

Prospective Timeline

City Staff from the Department of Infrastructure and Asset Management, along with consulting partners, are currently working on preliminary design for this project.

We anticipate sharing more information and initial design concepts at a community meeting to be scheduled in late spring/early summer 2024.

Final designs are currently anticipated to be completed by fall '25. Construction is anticipated to start in spring '26. All schedules are preliminary and subject to change.

Learn More

To learn more about the City's efforts to reduce flooding and improve water quality in our local rivers, please see our Citywide Flood Mitigation and Water Quality Master Plan.

Project Overview

The City of Somerville is making substantial systemwide investments to modernize its sewer and stormwater infrastructure. As part of this effort, the City will be installing new drainage infrastructure and rehabilitating the existing sewer system along Morrison Avenue (between Cedar Street and Grove St.) as well as throughout the surrounding neighborhood. This project will reduce flood risk in the surrounding area and help maintain the water quality of local rivers.

Prospective Timeline

City Staff from the Department of Infrastructure and Asset Management, along with consulting partners, are currently working on preliminary design for this project.

We anticipate sharing more information and initial design concepts at a community meeting to be scheduled in late spring/early summer 2024.

Final designs are currently anticipated to be completed by fall '25. Construction is anticipated to start in spring '26. All schedules are preliminary and subject to change.

Learn More

To learn more about the City's efforts to reduce flooding and improve water quality in our local rivers, please see our Citywide Flood Mitigation and Water Quality Master Plan.

  • Sewer Cleaning and Inspections - Begin Week of 9/23

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    Beginning 9/23 and over the coming weeks (weather permitting), City contractors will be performing sewer and storm drain cleaning and inspection in your neighborhood as part of the Morrison Avenue Flood Relief, Water Quality Improvements, and Streetscape Safety Improvements project.

    Construction crews will be briefly opening manholes to clean and perform video inspection of sanitary sewers and storm drains. Information gathered will help inform plans for the project.

    Sewer Cleaning and Inspection - What to Expect

    • Potential for brief, elevated noise levels during work.
      • No excavation is required for this work.
    • Crews are expected to be at any particular location for only ~1-3 hours.
    • Work hours are weekdays between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m.
      • Some parking restrictions will be in place.

    • Please observe posted signage.

    To learn more about this process see a video overview on the City’s Youtube channel here.

    Locations of Work

    • Morrison Ave from Cedar Street to Grove Street
    • Prichard Ave from Boston Ave to Morrison Ave
    • Highland Road from Boston Ave to Morrison Ave
    • Winslow Ave from Clifton Street to Grove Street
    • Clifton Street from Morrison Ave to Winslow Ave
    • Newberne Street from Morrison Ave to Community Path
    • Willow Ave from Morrison Ave to Community Path
    • Grove Street from Morrison Ave to Busway
    • Pearson Ave from Boston Ave to Morrison Ave
    • Cedar Street from Warwick Street to Alpine Street
    • Alpine Street from Cedar Street to Princeton Street

    If you have questions, please email construction@somervillema.gov or call the Engineering Division at 617-625-6600 ext. 5400.

    Thank you for your patience and understanding during this essential work.

  • Geotechnical Investigations Underway to Inform Design

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    Over the coming weeks, City contractors will be performing geotechnical investigations along Morrison Avenue and nearby streets.

    Crews will drill to collect soil/rock samples and install observation wells in order to gather information about the existing soil profile.

    The information gathered will help the design team determine the suitability of the site for implementation of various utility tools/strategies as we pursue our project goals of reducing flooding and improving water quality.

    Schedule and Construction Impacts

    • Geotechnical investigations are scheduled to take place over the coming weeks. weekdays 7 a.m. - 3 p.m.
    • Work in any particular location is expected to be brief–ranging from a few hours to 1-2 days.
    • Some temporary parking restrictions will be required to facilitate work.
      • Please observe posted signage.

    If you have questions about this work, please email construction@somervillema.gov or call the Engineering Division at (617) 625-6600 x 5400.

  • Visit the Morrison Avenue Flood Relief & Water Quality Improvements Open House on June 10

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    Mayor Katjana Ballantyne, Ward 6 Councilor Lance Davis, and Ward 5 Councilor Naima Sait, and the City of Somerville’s Engineering Division are inviting the community to an open house on flood relief and water quality improvement efforts planned for Morrison Avenue (Cedar Street to Grove Street) and the surrounding neighborhood.

    When? Monday, June 10, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
    Where? Community Baptist Church (31 College Avenue). 

    There will not be a formal presentation. Instead, project staff will be available to review initial concept design plans for stormwater management infrastructure and streetscape improvements, answer questions, and collect feedback. Community members are encouraging to drop-in at any time during the event.

  • Schedule a Home Plumbing Survey + Attend Our First Community Meeting

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    Schedule a Home Plumbing Survey

    To help better inform this project's initial design, the City and its consulting partners, Kleinfelder and Dewberry Engineers, are seeking to implement a home plumbing survey program. This program involves scheduling appointments with residents to perform a survey of their property and internal plumbing. This will require access to your basement or utility room. The goal of these surveys is to confirm existing connections between individual properties and the City’s sewer/drainage systems and identify existing surface drainage locations.

    If you live in or own a property listed here, we would like to perform a survey of your plumbing. Please click the link below to sign up and schedule a home plumbing survey. You will receive a form that requests permission to enter your property (with proper notice and coordination) to perform this plumbing survey. The information gathered will be used solely for the design of underground utilities on your street and will not be shared with other persons or parties outside of the project team.

    Schedule a home plumbing survey

    Join the Morrison Avenue Flood Relief & Water Quality Improvements Community Meeting on March 25 at 6 p.m.

    Mayor Katjana Ballantyne, Ward 6 Councilor Lance Davis, and Ward 5 Councilor Naima Sait invite you to join a virtual community meeting to learn about flood relief and water quality improvement efforts planned for Morrison Avenue (Cedar Street to Grove Street) and the surrounding neighborhood.

    At this meeting, City staff will introduce the project and share initial concept designs. Following the presentation, residents will have the opportunity to ask questions about the project and provide feedback.

    Register to Attend Here

    For those unable to attend, the meeting recording and presentation will be shared here shortly after the meeting.


Page last updated: 21 Sep 2024, 09:59 AM