Commonwealth Avenue Improvements (Church St. to Laws Brook Rd.)

Town Contact:

Justin Richardson, Assistant Town Engineer, 978-318-3213, jrichardson@concordma.gov

CPW'S General Contractor:

  1. Newport Construction Corporation
    Contact:  TBD

Other Contractors for Utility Projects:

  1. Concord Municipal Light Plant (CMLP)
    Contact:  CMLP Engineering
                    978-318-3116
  2. National Grid
    Project: Transfer of gas services to 8-inch main and abandon old 4-inch main
    Contact: Patrick Locke
    617-293-9218
  3. Nashoba Brook Bakery
    152 Commonwealth Avenue
    Project: New water and sewer service connections
    Contractor: Insite Contracting, Inc.
  4. 13B Commonwealth Avenue
    Project: New utility service connections and municipal water repair
    Contractor: Onyx Corporation

Construction Schedule:

  1. CMLP has completed the remainder of the light pole installation and the reconstruction of the electrical vault in front of #75 Commonwealth Avenue. The only outstanding work is the temporary asphalt paving of the sidewalk adjacent to the light pole and electrical vault. 
  2. National Grid has completed their work inside the project limits.
  3. Nashoba Brook Bakery had completed their planned construction in the Commonwealth Avenue Right of Way, but damages to a drainage pipe in the street  were recently discovered resulting from the previous utility service work.  The contractor repaired the issue on 10/31/2022.
  4. 13B Commonwealth Avenue construction in the street is completed.
  5. The start of CPW’s portion of the project - road and sidewalk reconstruction has been significantly delayed by utility work especially National Grid’s. The road and sidewalk project will be completed by CPW’s General Contractor (Newport Construction) but they are experiencing delays and shortages of materials. Newport has not yet provided a schedule of work but it is expected that the majority of the work will now be completed in 2023. CPW has recently identified some additional drainage infrastructure that needs to be reconstructed prior to the roadway work. A plan for the drainage work is being developed with the intention to perform the repairs before the end of 2022 but this is dependent on the weather. Newport Construction’s work schedule will be provided when it becomes available. Notice will be given for any exceptions for work outside of stipulated days and hours to address critical construction needs.


Pedestrian, Traffic and Access Management: 

CPW Engineering continues to work with CMLP and National Grid to minimize disturbance to the traffic during their utility project construction.  However, this construction is anticipated to impact some parking spaces and at least one lane of the roadway during certain portions of the construction. CMLP's impact to the area will be less and they will have CPD present to mitigate pedestrian and vehicular traffic. The Town has received a final traffic management plan from National Grid and it was accepted by CPW and CPD.  Click Here to access the Traffic Management Plan..

During CPW’s Complete Streets Project and road reconstruction, the roadway and street parking will be impacted by the repaving of the roadway and the curbing installation.   Additionally, portions of sidewalk will be temporarily closed because a large portion of the project is the re-construction of the sidewalks. Pedestrian access to all businesses and residences will be maintained throughout construction. The Traffic Management Plan for this portion of the project will be added here when it becomes available.

Project Overview:

1.  Complete Streets Project:

Background information for the Town of Concord Complete Streets Program can be found on the Town’s Website in the link below. 

https://concordma.gov/2454/Complete-Streets-Program 

MassDOT’s Complete Streets Tier 3 Construction Award Contract was executed with the Town in 2020. Commonwealth Avenue was one of three projects that the Town received funding for through this program. Below is an existing conditions image of the project area:

Existing Conditions of Improvement Area

Project Description:

The major items on the Commonwealth Avenue Complete Streets Project includes rebuilding the existing non ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant sidewalks and curbs on both sides of the street from the Railroad crossing to Beharrell Street and Bradford Street, construct two curb bump outs at each crosswalk to improve pedestrian safety and calm traffic, construct a new crosswalk at the intersection of Church Street and Commonwealth Avenue for additional pedestrian access, and implement new pavement markings to provide traffic calming, pedestrian and bicycle safety. This design was performed by The Engineering Corp. (TEC, Inc). See design plan below.

Engineering staff presented the preliminary design to the West Concord Advisory Committee and the Commission on Disability and incorporated their feedback into the final design. The construction of the project was put out for bids in the spring of 2022. Engineering staff also presented the project to the Concord Business Partnership so make them aware of the proposed construction. 

 

 

  

B. Road Reconstruction Project:

This project includes full depth reconstruction of the Commonwealth Ave roadway from the railway tracks to the intersection with Laws Brook Rd to address the poor condition of the pavement surface. The pavement will be reclaimed and regraded to improve surface drainage and rideability. A layer of binder pavement will be installed prior to the start of curb work.  The top layer of pavement will be added towards the end of the overall project and this will be followed by pavement markings.  When CPW is programing road and sidewalk projects, Engineering staff reaches out to utility providers and any known proposed abutting private development to notify them of the future construction and that the roadway would go into CPW’s 5-year Moratorium Street list. Projects listed below resulted from this coordination.  This road project along with other roads in the 2022 Roads Program have been presented to the Public Works Commission and the public via public meetings held during FY2022. 

 The paving limits are shown below:

Paving Limits

C. Street Light Replacement Project:

CMLP will be replacing the existing light pole bases and poles along Commonwealth Avenue. The locations of the light poles will be in the same locations as the currently exist.  The design of the proposed light poles is shown below:  

D. National Grid’s Gas Upgrades:

National Grid through a Grant of Location Request to the Select Board will transfer all services mains from their existing 4 inch main to the existing 8 inch main and abandon the 850 feet of the existing 4 inch main in place. The transfer of services main include the following:

  • tie in 4 inch Coated Steel gas main to 8 inch Coated Steel in the intersection of Laws Brook Rd and Commonwealth Ave with approximately 20 feet' of 4-inch Plastic, 
  • tie in 4 inch Coated Steel gas main to 8-inch Coated Steel at 74 Commonwealth Ave with approximately 5 feet of 4- inch Plastic.
  • tie in 2 inch Coated Steel gas main to 8 inch Coated Steel in the intersection of Commonwealth Av and Bradford St with approximately 30 feet of 2- inch.
  • tie in 2 inch Coated Steel gas main to 8 inch Coated Steel in the intersection of Commonwealth Ave and Beharrell St with approximately 60 feet of 2- inch. 

See National Grid’s Plan below:

National Grid attended a preconstruction meeting with Town Departments on Friday 7/29/2022. They also held a neighborhood meeting on 8/1/2022 where they explained to all attendees their construction plans and phasing. National Grid’s “We will be working in your neighborhood” notice that was provided to the neighborhood is attached here. 

E.  Private Development Work:

  • Nashoba Brook Bakery has an approved development project with frontage on Commonwealth Avenue in the area of the Town’s Commonwealth Ave Improvement Project.  As part of a private development of Nashoba Brook Bakery, CPW required the applicant to install new water and sewer services to their facility due to the age of the existing services. As part of their Right of Way permit the applicant has submitted a Traffic Management Plan to CPD and CPW. They were also requested to provide abutter notifications to inform local residents and businesses of the proposed construction.
  • 13B Commonwealth Avenue has an approved development project with frontage on Commonwealth Avenue in the area of the Town’s Commonwealth Ave Improvement Project.  This development will require new and previously approved utility services connecting to existing utilities located in Commonwealth Avenue. CPW requested that the applicant install all utility services prior to the Town’s improvements so as to not cut into the new pavement immediately after it is completed.

F.  Municipal Water Main Upgrade:

This project includes a minor upgrade to the municipal water system/service occurring in the area of #135 Commonwealth Avenue.