Four Roads To Be Dug Up To Add New Water Mains

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Photo: Gorham Road

Approximatly a mile of new 8-inch water mains will be laid starting in “a matter of weeks” after the Belmont Select Board approved the fiscal year ’23 Water Main Replacment project at its Oct. 18 meeting.

Department of Public Works Director Jay Marcotte told the board portions of four roads will be dug up to replace the existing pipe. They include:

  • Sycamore Street
  • Chandler Street
  • Gorham Road
  • Chester Road

Estimated by the town to cost $1 million, the town accepted a low bid of $790,070 from Cedrone Trucking of North Billerica. Marcotte said Cedrone has done “acceptable work for many years” having installed more than 11 miles of new pipeline.

Marcotte said three of the streets will be completed before the building season ends with one – still to be determined – beginning in the spring.

[UPDATE] Water Main Break Closes Portion of Brighton Street; Repair After 6 PM

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Photo: Water main break on Brighton Street.

A portion of Brighton Street was closed shortly before 11 a.m., Friday, Aug. 16 from Cross Street to Coolidge Road due to water main break, according to town officials.

According to Water Division personnel at the site, a six-inch water main installed in 1933 ruptured late in the morning, reducing pressure in the surrounding neighborhood.

While replacing the main is a routine operation, the placement of other utilities running along the pipe will likely delay a final repair until after 6 p.m.

Major Water Main Break Closed Common Street Sunday

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Photo: Teens will be teens.

A section of a major water main that runs along Common Street ruptured Sunday afternoon, Oct. 4, closing a portion of the main thoroughfare from Cushing Square to Belmont Center for most of the night.

The 12-inch pipe – the largest main used by the town – blew out at approximately 4:10 p.m. A witness said a sudden geyser of water erupted from the corner of Warwick Road and Common where the break took place under the pavement.

Department of Public Works crews arrived after police closed Common Street from Raleigh to Chester roads at 4:30 p.m. to begin the process of turning off the water main before repairs could take place.

Michael Santoro, director of the DPW’s Highway Division, told the Belmontonian Monday, Oct. 5, the main – laid in 1934 – had a 10-foot split running down the middle of the pipe.

Santoro suspected the split was caused “because of age. You can tell as it cracked bell to bell,” said Santoro. 

Water service was interrupted for homes on the east side of Common Street after the DPW shut off the main while a resident said his house on Bay State Road was suffering from low pressure.

Due to nearby gas and electrical lines, crews had to proceed slowly with its work, finally securing a new section at approximately 4 a.m. Monday morning, said Santoro. 

 

Water Main Break Halts Traffic on Brighton/Blanchard, Repair by 4 PM

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A major water main broke around 9 a.m., Tuesday, Feb. 10, on the north side of Brighton Street at the commuter rail tracks, causing the closure of an important cross town thoroughfare.

Belmont Police detoured traffic off of Blanchard Road from Concord Avenue to the commuter tracks and Brighton Street to Vale Road and the tracks to allow Department of Public Work crews to remove and repair the pipe that spewed water onto the roadway for a short time.

“We found a major crack in the pipe so it had to be removed and a new section cut at the DPW yard,” said Mark Mancuso, operations manager of the DPW’s Water Division.

There was some concern from the MBTA the water from the leak could freeze onto the commuter rail tracks, said Mancuso. That problem did not materialize, he added.

Mancuso said the pipe should be replaced and the road reopened by 4 p.m.

 

Dig It Up: Water Main Work Begins This Monday

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On the heels of Belmont naming 11 dilapidated roads to be reconstructed this year comes another list of streets, only this one highlights roads to be dug up.

This Monday, July 28, the Water Division of the Belmont Department of Public Works will begin water main replacement work on 10 byways in town, with the work lasting until Nov. 15.

The streets include:

  • Charles Street
  • Edward Street
  • Orchard Street from Common to Beech streets
  • Winthrop Street
  • Warwick Road
  • Garden Street
  • Holt Street
  • Somerset Street from Pleasant Street to Shady Brook Lane
  • Wellington Lane
  • Richmond Road

The infrastructure work – to replace aging mains to provide “an ample volume of high quality drinking water … and improve water pressures throughout the town,” according to a DPW press release – will take place Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

As with any water main work, residents will experience service disruptions during the construction process. Homeowners and businesses will be provided with at least 24-hour notification of all planned water main shutdowns, where water service will be interrupted for a period longer than two hours.

The water system improvements will require some residences to have water supplied through a temporary above ground water main until the new main is complete.

Questions relating to the project or schedule should be directed to the Belmont Water Division at 617-993-2700, between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday or by calling Water Division Construction Supervisor Dave Powers at 617-438-2079.

Project updates can be found on the Department of Public Works Water Division web site. http://belmontma.vt-s.net/dpw-water-division.