Why is a $22M Newton bike lane project blocked by utility poles?
NEWTON - A new lane for cyclists in Newton is closed to bike traffic. Ian Whiting sent an email to WBZ's Question Everything about the bike lane and attached a video that he described as "admittedly sarcastic."
When we watched it, it was clear what he was wondering about. The video showed a newly paved and newly painted raised bike lane on Needham Street that had utility poles and big orange construction barrels running right down the middle.
"My wife said 'you should send it (the video) to someone. So, I sent it to Question Everything," Whiting said.
He wondered; will the utility poles be moved? What is the process?
$22 million roadway project
Well, first some background. After three years, MassDOT is wrapping up a $22 million roadway project on the busy road just off I-95 on the Newton-Needham line. The project, which took a few years, widened the road and added new five-foot raised bike lanes that run alongside the sidewalk.
However, there are 30 utility poles blocking the bike lane on one side of the street and 15 more on the other side. There are signs saying the lanes are closed. It's obvious the poles will be moved. It's not obvious when it will happen. So, I checked with MassDOT.
MassDOT says it has done its work. It tells me the poles are owned by Eversource and Verizon and the utility companies are responsible for removing the poles. MassDOT says it has asked both companies to complete the work as soon as possible.
Here's the issue: the poles have electric, phone, cable lines and sometimes more. Eversource said it has moved a "substantial" amount of its electrical wires to the new poles.
"Complex" process to move poles
Both Eversource and Verizon say they are not allowed to touch equipment that belongs to other companies and so they have to wait for everyone else to remove or move their wires. When all that is done, they can remove the poles.
When will that be? Well, I asked if it will be weeks, months or more. They couldn't venture a guess saying the process is "complex."
Of course, once the poles are removed, the bike lanes will have to be repaved. So, there's still quite a lot of work to be done. Until then, Ian Whiting and other cyclists will be riding on the road.
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