Beginning Tuesday, July 5, 2016, Cedar St. will be closed to through traffic AT ALL TIMES between Sartwell Ave. and Elm St. Abutters within the work zone will not have access to their driveways during working hours. The contractor will work with the residents to provide special access for moving vans, deliveries, etc when possible. No cars will be allowed to park on street during work hours (7 a.m. to approximately 4:00 p.m.). This portion of Cedar St. is expected to reopen in the fall.

During the week of July 5, 2016, City employees and City contractors will be working with residents to access water lines on private property in order to install a water bypass. Please see the attached letter.

As an older city, Somerville’s underground infrastructure is aging and in need of replacement; in the area of Cedar St., water mains are approximately 100 years old, or older. The combination of aging infrastructure, the need to minimize the frequency of flooding and continuation of the City’s efforts to reduce its reliance on combined sewers, makes this a valuable project for the City.

In June and July 2016, the City of Somerville and its contractor, P. Giosioso & Sons Inc., will begin these needed improvements to the sewer, drainage, and water systems on Cedar St. (Highland Ave. to Elm St.) and Elm St. (Cedar St. to Somerville Ave.).

Improvements Above and Below Ground

Improvements during this project include upgrades to both underground water & sewer infrastructure as well as surface-level roadway improvements for cars, bicycles, and pedestrians. During the first phases of construction, crews will address the major underground infrastructure work (which may mean some temporary water service disruptions, in which case residents will be notified in advance). In later phases, Cedar St. will be repaved, new, ADA compliant sidewalks added, and bike lanes striped. In all, the project will include:

• Improving the drainage system
• Reducing the frequency of flooding events at Hall St.
• Separating sewer & drainage systems
• Installing new water mains
• Installing ADA compliant sidewalks
• Repaving Cedar & (portions of) Elm Streets

Improvements Above and Below Ground

Segments of Cedar St. will be closed as follows (weather permitting):

PHASE 1 DETOUR ROUTES (July-September)


PHASE 2 DETOUR ROUTE (September – November)


PHASE 3 DETOUR ROUTES (Spring 2017)

Stay Informed

To sign up for bi-weekly emails, contact Jackie Rossetti atJRossetti@somervillema.gov.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact any of the following people:

Paul Greco, Resident Engineer: On site

Bryan Manter, City Engineer: bmanter@somervillema.gov, 617-625-6600 x5400 

Peter Violette, Junior City Engineer: pviolette@somervillema.gov, x5414