Pearl Street Reconstruction & Safety Improvements

Weather permitting, this upcoming Monday, June 3 City contractors will return to the intersection of Gilman and Walnut Street to build a raised crosswalk.

This work is one of the final remaining pieces of the City’s Pearl Street (and nearby intersections) reconstruction project.

Detour Notice - Walnut St. (Medford St. to Gilman St.) closed to vehicle traffic

During this phase of construction, Walnut St. will be closed to vehicle traffic between Medford St. and Gilman St. .

• Vehicle traffic will be detoured west on Medford St. then east on Pearl St. to before reconnecting with Walnut St.

  • Some parking restrictions will be in place

    • Please observe posted signage

Once in place, this detour will be in effect for approximately 48 hours to provide time for granite curbing to set properly.

Planned Detour

Raised crossing are traffic calming interventions design make our streets safer and more comfortable for everyone. Interested in learning more about traffic calming? Visit our traffic calming page (somervillema.gov/trafficcalming) for information on different traffic calming tools, a map of existing and future traffic calming locations, as well as an overview of how we prioritize these interventions.

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

Beginning as early as Wednesday, April 17 or soon after (weather permitting), City Contractors will begin milling (removal of top layers of asphalt of the roadway) the intersection of Walnut Street. and Gilman Street. Paving of the intersection will follow.

This work is one of the final remaining pieces of the City’s Pearl Street (and nearby intersections) reconstruction project.

Detour Notice - Walnut St. (Medford St. to Gilman St.) closed to through traffic

During this phase of construction, Walnut St. will be closed to through traffic between Medford St. and Gilman St. during work hours (weekdays, 7am-4pm).

• Vehicle traffic will be detoured west on Medford St. then east on Pearl St. to before reconnecting with Walnut St.

  • Access will be maintained for abutters and pedestrians

  • Some parking restrictions will be in place

    • Please observe posted signage

This detour is expected to be in place for approximately 1-2 days.

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

Planned Detour

Beginning Monday, October 30 or soon after, City Contractors will begin reconstructing sidewalks and installing a raised crossing at the intersection of Walnut St. and Gilman St.

This work is one of the final remaining pieces of the City’s Pearl Street (and nearby intersections) reconstruction project.

Detour Notice - Walnut St. (Medford St. to Gilman St.) closed to through traffic

During this phase of construction, Walnut St. will be closed to through traffic between Medford St. and Gilman St. during work hours (weekdays, 7am-4pm).

• Vehicle traffic will be detoured west on Medford St. then east on Pearl St. to before reconnecting with Walnut St.

• Access will be maintained for abutters and pedestrians

• Some parking restrictions will be in place

  • Please observe posted signage

This detour is expected to be in place for approximately 2 weeks.

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

Planned Detour

Final Design

Beginning Friday, August 18 or soon after the City of Somerville’s contractor, D&R Paving will be paving Pearl St. between McGrath Highway and Mount Vernon St., as part of the Pearl St. Reconstruction & Safety Improvements Project.

Anticipated Schedule (Subject to Change):

Weather permitting, paving is expected to begin on Friday, August 18 or soon after

• Paving is expected to take approximately 2-3 working days.

• Work hours are weekdays from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Construction Impacts:

• On-street parking will be restricted during construction. Please observe posted signage.

• Periodic road closures during paving.

  • Resident and pedestrian access will be maintained.

• Access to your driveway may be temporarily restricted during paving.

  • Onsite crews are available to help you get in and out of your driveway if needed.

• Trash/recycling pick-ups and deliveries will not be affected.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and thank you for your patience as we work to install streetscape improvements throughout the neighborhood.

For more information about the project, visit somervillema.gov/pearlst. If you have questions, please email construction@somervillema.gov or call the Engineering Division at (617) 625-6600 ext. 5400 with questions.

Progress Photos:

Neighborhood Traffic Circle at Pearl St. and Glen St.

Raised Crossing at Pearl St. and Cross St.

Learn more about neighborhood traffic circles, raised crossing and other traffic calming features at somervillema.gov/trafficcalming.

Beginning Monday, July 31 or soon after, contractors will be milling (removing the top few layers of existing asphalt) at the below locations. Milling is expected to take approximately 3 working days.

Paving of the four intersections above will follow milling and is currently expected to take place either during the latter half of the week of 7/31, or during the week of 8/7. Final paving of Pearl St. will follow.

Additional notification will be provided once paving dates are confirmed.

Construction impacts:

• On-street parking will be restricted during construction. Please observe posted signage.
• Periodic road closures during paving.
  • Access will be maintained for residents.
• Access to your driveway may be temporarily restricted.
  • Onsite crews are available to help you get in and out of your driveway if needed.
• Trash/recycling pick-ups and deliveries will not be affected.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and thank you for your patience as we work to install streetscape improvements throughout the neighborhood.

Construction crews continue to make great progress on the reconstruction of Pearl St. and on safety improvements in East Somerville. Below is an overview of current ongoing and future work, as well as a notice of a detour for the MBTA’s route 90 bus for upcoming work on Cross St.

Sidewalk Reconstruction

• Crews are nearing completion on sidewalks along Pearl St. between Franklin St. and Cross St.

• Sidewalk construction to begin shortly on Pearl St. between Cross St. and McGrath Hwy.

• Installation of Somerville's first ever neighborhood traffic circle at the intersection of Glen and Oliver St.

Intersection Safety Improvements

The following crosswalk and intersection safety improvements are currently underway and are expected to progress over the coming weeks.

• Raised intersection at Cross/Oliver/Gilman

• Raised crosswalk at Franklin St/Franklin Ave/Oliver

• Raised crosswalk at Everett/Cross

*Construction of the raised intersection at Cross/Oliver/Gilman will reduce traffic to a one-lane of bidirectional, alternating travel.

This work will also require the MBTA route 90 bus to be detoured Monday, July 17 to Friday, July 21. Visit MBTA,com/bus for details. Signage will be posted at affected bus stops.

Final Paving

Final milling and paving of the roadway (Pearl St. and select intersections) is scheduled for late August. Additional notification will be provided prior to paving.

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

Sidewalk Installation on Pearl St.

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

Crews will continue installing sidewalks on Pearl Street from Glen Street to McGrath Highway.

Intersection Work Around Neighborhood Schools

Work on the intersections of Cross St./Everett Ave., Franklin St./Oliver St., Oliver St./Glen St. will begin shortly after school is out for the summer.

More on the final design and planned improvements available here:

• English
• Portuguese
• Spanish
• नेपाली
• Kreyòl Ayisyen

Starting as early as next week (3/27) or soon after, City contractors will begin work to reconstruct and improve Pearl St. between McGrath Highway and Mount Vernon St., as well as nearby intersections.

Anticipated Work Schedule (subject to change):

Construction is expected to begin as early as Monday, March, 27th or soon after and continue through the fall. Work hours are weekdays, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Initial Locations and Descriptions of Work:

• Work will start on the eastern end of the project limits on Pearl St. between Mt Vernon St. and Myrtle St.
  • initial work will include tree protection and preliminary work on sidewalk reconstruction
• Construction planned near the East Somerville Community School will take place later in the summer while classes are not in session.

Anticipated Construction Impacts:

• Some on-street parking may be temporarily restricted
• Periodic road closures may be required during work hours (detours provided)
• Trash/recycling pick-ups, deliveries, and bus access will not be affected

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

Review the final design and planned improvements:

• English
• Portuguese
• Spanish
• नेपाली
• Kreyòl Ayisyen

Project Update

The start of this project was significantly delayed due to an unexpected supply chain issue with the granite curbing needed for construction of the raised crosswalks at the intersections of Pearl St./Cross St. and Everett Ave./Cross St. This particular portion of the project is now set to be completed next summer, as it needs to be coordinated with the East Somerville Community School not being in session.

Construction crews will mobilize in full force in early April to begin work on this project.

(Post updated: 10/19/22)

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

Starting as early as next week (7/25) or soon after, City contractors will begin work to reconstruct and improve Pearl St. between McGrath Highway and Mount Vernon St., as well as nearby intersections.

Anticipated Work Schedule (subject to change):

Construction is expected to begin as early as Monday, July, 25th or soon after and continue through the fall. Work hours are weekdays, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Initial Locations and Descriptions of Work:

• Intersection of Cross St./Everett Ave. (installation of raised crosswalk)
• Intersection of Cross St./Pearl St. (installation of raised intersection)
• Pearl St. between Cross St. and Glen St. (sidewalk reconstruction)

Anticipated Construction Impacts:

• Some on-street parking may be temporarily restricted
• Periodic road closures may be required during work hours (detours provided)
• Trash/recycling pick-ups, deliveries, and bus access will not be affected

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