To help community members stay informed on planned work for Highland Avenue, the City of Somerville is sharing important information regarding the current timeline for utility work, upcoming interim paving, and the streetscape redesign process. 

Mayor Katjana Ballantyne’s fiscal year 2024 budget, approved by the City Council in June, allocates $375,000 for interim paving of eastern Highland Avenue from Central Street to McGrath Highway. This stretch is one of Somerville’s most traveled roadways, and the administration identified it as a priority for interim repaving prior to a full, multi-modal streetscape redesign and reconstruction. 

Critical utility work currently underway along Highland Avenue planned for Winter/Spring 2024 requires digging that can cause damages to the roadway surface. Once this work is complete, the interim paving of the roadway will be undertaken as a measure to support safe travel for all users. A full redesign and reconstruction of Highland Avenue that will be informed by community process will follow beginning in 2025. More information on each of these items can be found below.  

Utility Upgrades on Eastern Highland Ave. (Winter/Spring 2024) 

Ongoing utility work as part of the Spring Hill Sewer Separation project is underway. In addition, the City and Eversource Gas have coordinated to prioritize Eversource’s Gas Main Upgrades project. Gas main upgrades are currently expected to start in early February 2024 (weather permitting). 

Recently completed and upcoming utility improvements along eastern Highland Avenue include:  

• Spring Hill Sewer Separation (Sewer, Drainage, and Water Main Upgrades) 
  • Central St. – Walnut St. – completed fall 2023 
  • Walnut St. – Thorpe St. – spring 2024 

• Eversource Gas Main Replacement  
  • Benton Rd. – School St. – winter/spring 2024 

This schedule ensures that the newly paved roadway will not be disturbed by major utility work. 

Interim Paving Work 

The first step for interim repaving is the completion of underground utility work. Over recent months, Engineering Division staff have coordinated closely with contractors from the City’s Spring Hill Sewer Separation Project and partners at Eversource Gas to accelerate this work.  

The next step, following completion of utility work, will be paving of the two travel lanes of the roadway (approximately 28-feet wide). This partial paving, which does not include the parking areas next to the curbs, is intended to restore the road surface travel areas. This is an interim measure to support safe travel for all users of the road until the full redesign and reconstruction of Highland Avenue.

Paving is on schedule for early summer of 2024. This interim paving is expected to extend from roughly McGrath Highway to Central Street. 

Future Phases: Full Redesign and Reconstruction of Highland Avenue 

The City’s Five-Year Capital Investment Plan includes a larger-scale redesign and reconstruction of Highland Avenue. This effort is currently planned to begin as early as July 2025, but the City is exploring options for moving this timeline forward. For more details visit somervillema.gov/highlandave. 

To ensure consistency with the City’s Vision Zero Action Plan and Citywide Bicycle Network Plan, this larger project will include: 

• Reconstructed sidewalks. 
• Traffic calming and crosswalk safety enhancements. 
• Two directions of separated bicycle lanes. 
• Bus priority infrastructure. 

• Green stormwater infrastructure elements. 

The project development process will include a thorough evaluation of resident, business, and visitor parking and loading needs with a commitment to serve these needs in the context of the future street design. 

To stay informed on the larger-scale redesign and reconstruction project please visit somervillema.gov/highlandave. 

What is the Spring Hill Sewer Separation? 

Much of Spring Hill is served by a combined sewer system that collects both wastewater and stormwater runoff in the same pipes. The City of Somerville is currently working to upgrade these systems by installing new storm drains that separate stormwater from the existing combined sewer. This measure is one in a series of actions the City is undertaking to reduce water pollution, mitigate flooding, and ultimately modernize our infrastructure. 

In addition to the installation of a modern, separate sewer system, the Spring Hill Sewer Separation project includes: 

• Green infrastructure to help manage stormwater by mimicking natural processes. 
• 185 new trees to planted throughout the neighborhood. 
• Improvements to the streetscape for people walking, wheeling, driving, or cycling.