Boston Water & Sewer Commission (BWSC) presented project plans for upcoming construction and related traffic changes at the March North End/Waterfront Neighborhood Council (NEWNC) meeting.
BWSC Director of Construction Peter Salvatore and Project Manager Jean-Luc Teixeira shared that construction is scheduled to begin in April and last through October. The biggest impacts will be parking and traffic while working. The work is primarily water work, with some sewer drainage.
Residents may experience a water service interruption while they are put on/taken off a temporary water bypass system. If there will be a one-day shutdown, residents will receive notice 48 hours in advance.
Tileston St. and Margaret St. will have to be closed while work is being done, all other streets should remain open to vehicles during construction. Any parking limitations would be for daytime parking; overnight parking should not be restricted. (2:03) Teixeira said he will send out letters two weeks prior to construction to any residents that may be affected on specific streets.
Battery St. and Cleveland Pl. will be the first two streets to be worked on. Residents can expect to see BWSC crews there around mid-April.
NEWNC President Brett Roman reminded the BWSC team about the North End feasts that take place in the summer. Teixeira said the contractor is aware of the feasts and they are advised that no work should be done during those times and the areas should be clean. Overall, no weekend work is expected.
NEWNC Council Member Ashley Leo asked how the construction will affect the bike path along Commercial St. Salvatore said the project should not have any impact on the bike path.
Salvatore also mentioned that they will do temporary paving as they go, and then they will come back under a separate contract to do permanent paving. That usually happens 3-6 months after completion and takes 1-2 days. Paving wraps up by December for year, so areas worked on in the beginning of the season might be paved in 2020, areas worked on in the latter half of the calendar year will likely be permanent paved in the spring.
A project overview (displayed below) was distributed to meeting attendees. BWSC will also provide detailed updates once the work commences.
Isn’t there enough disruption in the North End without adding the Boston, Water and Sewer project starting in April? No water, no street parking, it’s not enough that parking is a daily issue, not to mention the infestation of rodents bait or no bait you can’t kill them all. This is insane to many projects going on at the same time
It’s an ancient system, better be proactive before the sewers and water lines break on their own. However the follow up paving could take from 3-6 months, this will be a problem. Well 6 months and we are almost into winter. Any delays and then it looks like next spring. The temporary pavement is almost soft enough to leave foot prints in.
Really wish they would just leave these streets closed for a week do the work and be finished. They spend more time paving and un-paving their work each day than they do fixing the problem. Just seems like they could be so much more efficient and not make such a mess.
I agree