March 17, 2004

MWRA to Hold Public Meeting on Ward Street, Newton Project

The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority will hold a neighborhood meeting on Thursday, March 25th to discuss upcoming water pipeline construction work on Ward Street. The meeting will be held at 7 P.M. at the Ward School auditorium.

MWRA contractors will need to open up a one-block stretch of Ward Street between Hammond/Woodchester and Garrison/Woodlawn for six to twelve weeks beginning in late April, at the earliest. Neighbors are asked to attend the meeting and provide feedback on possible timing of the project (Spring vs. Summer). The one block section will likely need to be closed to traffic due to the size of required excavations.

The project will eliminate obsolete water pipeline and valves that connected the MWRA system to Newton’s distribution system through the small pumping station on Ward Street. That pump station is now closed. New ductile iron pipeline will be installed to give Newton an important backup connection to the regional water system.

Construction work is planned Monday – Friday from 7 A.M. to 3:30 P.M. Local water service will be maintained and alternative parking arrangements will be made by the contractor for neighbors, if needed. After underground work is completed, the contractor will perform a full-depth reconstruction of the street, and restore any impacted sidewalks and grass areas.

Please contact Michele Gillen at MWRA – Public Affairs at (617) 788-1191 for questions about the project.