Waltham Roadwork This Summer, Drivers Beware

WALTHAM, MA — This year, it's South Street's turn for a bit of a headache in Waltham. For the past 15 years, the city has worked street by street through a wholesale sewer rehabilitation project to fix infiltration and inflow issues as part of a consent decree with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.

Waltham City Engineer Steve Casazza said the work ongoing this summer and fall – which includes digging, inspection and replacement of sewer lines as needed – puts the city about five years away from completing the necessary project.

"We’re getting there," Casazza said. "These are 80-, 90-year-old sewer lines. The pipes have started to leak. Leaky sewers cause problems in the rivers and with the water supply."

As anyone who tries to make their way from one end of Waltham to the other knows, roadwork adds to the aggravation of already-congested roads. With water main work being done over the next few weeks on School Street near Lexington Street, and the Woerd Avenue Bridge scheduled to be closed for work Wednesday and Thursday (with more to come), Casazza said the goal is to manage the impact of the projects as well as possible and keep the public informed of the hot spots in the city.

"We try not to do too much at once and really raise heck with the traffic," he said. "There are a lot of other departments and utilities working on projects, so we try to work with them and fit ours into the fold so we are not creating gridlock."

He said updates on any projects that are expected to cause disruption with traffic are posted on the city’s website through Abby Auld, the city's social medial coordinator, and other social media outlets.

The sewer work in the area of South Street and Exchange Street is scheduled for completion this fall with all affected roads then milled and paved.

The water main work on School Street, which is part of the city's Capital Improvement Plan, and includes replacing a water main from Exchange Street to Lexington Street, and will cause detours from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. this week. The Government Center parking garage will be closed.

The installation of water service to new mains on Trimount Avenue and Montclair Avenue will require portions of the roads to be closed as crews cut the roadways Monday in preparation of the work. That project is expected to last into early next week.