Spring Hill Sewer Separation Project

Watermain shutdown scheduled for Wednesday, July 20th from 9 AM – 11 AM. The following addresses will be affected by the shutdown:

• 150, 156, 174 and 180 Highland Ave
• 2 - 54 Benton Rd
• 46 - 75 Central St
• 38-76 Berkeley St
• Westwood Rd (Entire St)
• Cambria St (Entire St)
• Gibbens St (Entire St)

Once the water is back on, you may experience a short period of water discoloration. Though the water may be discolored, it is safe to drink. Until the water runs clear, it is advised to avoid washing laundry, especially white fabrics. If any rust stains appear on wet laundry, the clothes should not be dried, and you can call 311 (or 617-666-3311 from cell phones or outside the city) for a free bottle of rust remover.

We have two water main shutdowns scheduled for the week of June 27th to support the Spring Hill Project

• Watermain shutdown scheduled for Monday, June 27th from 9 AM – 3 PM. The following addresses will be affected by the shutdown:

• 519, 545, 567-569 Somerville Ave
• 6-18 Spring Street
• 1-40 Central St (Excluding Hospital)
• Atherton Street (Entire Street)
• Beech Street (Entire Street)
• Cypress Street (Entire Street)
• Pitman Street (Entire Street)

Residences will be notified by the contractor on Friday (6/24) via flyer. The CHA Clinic will be unaffected by this shutdown.

Gioioso is also performing water utility work that will require a watermain shutdown on Thursday, June 30th from 9 AM – 3 PM. The following addresses will be affected by the shutdown:

• 9-41 Sycamore Street (Excluding #s 26 and 29)
• 129 – 147 Highland Ave

Residences will be notified by the contractor via flyer next week.

Beginning on or around May 9, 2022, City contractors will rehabilitate aging sewers on several streets in Spring Hill. Crews will use a method called cured-in-place-pipe lining(External link) (CIPP lining) to provide more structurally sound pipes without excavation.

Locations: Summer Street from Benton Road to School Street

Anticipated Work Schedule: Weekdays between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., starting May 9th for approximately four weeks. Hours may extend to 10 p.m. on streets with larger sewers. Subject to change due to weather or other factors.

Odor: Plastic- or glue-like odors may be detectable when the liner cures. This will dissipate quickly once the process is complete. If you are sensitive to odors, consider opening windows or doors to increase airflow.

Noise: Moderate noise from compressors, blowers, truck engines, and bypass pumps.

Traffic Impacts: On-street parking restrictions expected on both sides of the work zone. Lane shifts and isolated lane closures will be in effect.

Stay Informed: Sign up for the City alert system to receive notifications about disruptive construction, snow emergencies, and major events planned for your neighborhood: somervillema.gov/alerts

(External link)Questions? Email construction@somervillema.gov(External link) or call the Engineering Division at 617-625-6600 ext. 5400

Spring Hill Construction Community Meeting, scheduled for April 6th.

Join us for a virtual community meeting to learn about construction planned for this year. The first phase of work will begin in earnest this spring and is expected to continue through 2023 on:

• Summer Street (Belmont Street to Bow Street)
• Central Street (Highland Avenue to Summer Street)
• Westwood Road
• Avon Street
• Carter Terrace

Wednesday, April 6, at 6:00 p.m.

REGISTER HERE

https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_JLjbkv3WQX-GsneUAUkZpg

Interpretation into Spanish, Portuguese, Haitian Kreyol, or Nepali may be available upon advance request by contacting the SomerViva Office of Immigrant Affairs at somerviva@somervillema.gov or calling 311.

Persons with disabilities who need auxiliary aids and services for effective communication (i.e., CART, ASL), written materials in alternative formats, or reasonable modifications in policies and procedures in order to access the programs, activities, and meetings of the City of Somerville should please contact Adrienne Pomeroy at 617-625-6600 x 2059 or apomeroy@somervillema.gov.

Beginning on or around March 7, 2022, City contractors will rehabilitate aging sewers on several streets in Spring Hill. Crews will use a method called cured-in-place-pipe lining (CIPP lining) to provide more structurally sound pipes without excavation.

Locations: Central Street and Cambria Street, then Gibbens Street, Westwood Road, Oxford Street, Carter Terrace, and Summer Street

Anticipated Work Schedule: Weekdays between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., starting March 7 for approximately four weeks. Hours may extend to 10 p.m. on streets with larger sewers. Subject to change due to weather or other factors.

Odor: Plastic- or glue-like odors may be detectable when the liner cures. This will dissipate quickly once the process is complete. If you are sensitive to odors, consider opening windows or doors to increase airflow.

Noise: Moderate noise from compressors, blowers, truck engines, and bypass pumps.

Traffic Impacts: On-street parking restrictions expected on both sides of the work zone. Lane shifts and isolated lane closures will be in effect.

Stay Informed: Sign up for the City alert system to receive notifications about disruptive construction, snow emergencies, and major events planned for your neighborhood: somervillema.gov/alerts

Questions? Email construction@somervillema.gov or call the Engineering Division at 617-625-6600 ext. 5400

Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone, Ward 3 Councilor Ben Ewen-Campen, Ward 5 Councilor Mark Niedergang, and Ward 6 Councilor Lance Davis invite you to a virtual community meeting to discuss the Highland Ave Redesign Project.

At this meeting, City staff will detail the project scope and timeline, present parking data information, share customer and business survey response summaries, and gather public feedback.

The meeting will take place virtually on Wednesday, November 17, at 6:30 p.m. Please register at the following link: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_OMhPa_R4RnOqXtRTetEpEQ.

Call in information is available upon registration.

For more any questions, please email transportation@somervillema.gov(External link).

Interpretation into Spanish, Portuguese, Haitian Kreyol, or Nepali may be available upon advance request by contacting the SomerViva Office of Immigrant Affairs at somerviva@somervillema.gov(External link) or calling 311 at 617-666-3311.

Persons with disabilities who need auxiliary aids and services for effective communication (i.e., CART, ASL), written materials in alternative formats, or reasonable modifications in policies and procedures in order to access the programs, activities, and meetings of the City of Somerville should please contact Nancy Bacci at 617-625-6600 x 2250 or nbacci@somervillema.gov(External link).

Friends and neighbors,

I am grateful for all of you who have been engaged in our community discussion about the future of Highland Avenue. We have a huge task, and a huge opportunity ahead. I wanted to take a moment to bring you up to speed on my thought process.

In December, I directed City staff to test feasibility of a new street design, one that reflects our community’s desire to prioritize people walking, rolling, biking and riding the bus. Our previous design emphasized safety, accessibility, traffic calming and bus transit, but did not meet Somerville’s expectations for bicycling by people of all ages and abilities.

Staff’s feasibility analysis is complete. Based on this technical review, I believe that the future of the Highland Avenue corridor is a future with safe, protected bike lanes serving our incredible new Somerville High School, the Central Hill civic campus and other important community destinations between Davis Square and McGrath Highway.

My vision for a safe, green Highland Avenue cannot be realized without major changes to curbside parking and loading. Many stakeholders will view this tradeoff differently than I do. I respect diverse opinions, and I have directed City staff to prepare a new project schedule that will permit appropriate data collection, debate, and policy planning to manage limited curbside parking and loading resources. We don’t have all the answers yet, but the City is committed to working with our constituents to find them.

The City’s original schedule for our Spring Hill Sewer Separation project planned to complete construction of Highland Avenue from Central Street to Hamlet Street (near McGrath Highway) in 2023. The section of Highland between Central Street and Cutter Avenue (near Davis Square) was more speculative, and was imagined to be completed in the 2026 timeframe.

City staff have recommended a new approach in which the two parts of Highland will be grouped into a new standalone project that has the potential to be completed in 2024. Data collection and public outreach have already begun, and a formal funding request to the City Council for project engineering costs will be submitted this spring. Meanwhile, the critical sewer separation project for the larger Spring Hill neighborhood (which includes new streetscapes for portions of Summer Street, Central Street and School Street) will proceed with the goal to start construction in late 2021 and finish construction in late 2023.

In my mid-term address of March 1, I described how my final term as Mayor would honor the bold and progressive vision you hired me to implement. A major reason that the Somerville community chose to rebuild Somerville High School on the historic campus is its central location offering safe choices in how to travel there. Let’s give our youth the chance to be free-range. Let’s help constituents access City services no matter how they get around. Let’s build a Highland Avenue worthy of the new Central Hill Civic Campus.

With respect,

Mayor Joe