Gas Line Work to Close Harvard @Winchester April 3

Residents and frequent commuters in the Harvard Street and Winchester Street area of Medford should be aware of a brief construction project starting this week.

On Wednesday, April 3rd National Grid will begin moving a six-inch gas line beneath the intersection of Winchester and Harvard Streets. The project will take two weeks to complete, according to an email from Green Line Extension project officials.

The work is being done so a new drainage pipe that is connected to the Green Line extension to Medford can be installed in the area. The existing “aging” twenty-four inch storm drain pipe is being replaced with a new thirty-inch pipe. Project officials say the work should lead to better drainage in the area.

The pipe re-location will result in a single lane closure at Winchester and Harvard Streets. The work will be done from 9AM-3PM Monday through Friday only.

According to project officials, National Grid will also “be out in the same area soon after to move electrical lines for the same purposes.”

Phase 1 of the Green Line Extension to Medford and Somerville is now underway.

Barletta Heavy Division, Inc. is the contractor for Phase 1 of the MBTA Green Line Extension Project. The first phase of construction includes the reconstruction of two bridges, the Harvard Street Railroad Bridge in Medford and the Medford Street Railroad Bridge in Somerville. Both bridges will be rebuilt to accommodate the existing Commuter Rail tracks and the new Green Line tracks.

A building owned by the MBTA will also be torn down to clear a way for the eventual extension of Green Line tracks from Lechmere Station. The building is located at 21 Water Street in East Cambridge, according to the MassDOT, and will be torn down “later in 2013.”

The first phase of construction will cost $12.9 million.

– InsideMedford.com