NEWTON – A new lane for cyclists in Newton has been closed to bicycle traffic. Ian Whiting emailed WBZ’s Question Everything about the bike path and included a video he described as “admittedly sarcastic.”
When we looked at it, it was clear what he was wondering. The video showed a newly paved and newly painted elevated bike path on Needham Street with utility poles and large orange construction barrels running right down the middle.
“My wife said, ‘You have to send it (the video) to someone. So I sent it to Question Everything,” Whiting said.
He wondered; Will the electricity poles be moved? What is the process?
A $22 million road project
Well, first some background information. After three years, MassDOT is wrapping up a $22 million road project on the busy road just off I-95 on the Newton-Needham line. The project, which lasted a few years, widened the road and added new, five-foot-tall bike lanes that run along the sidewalk.
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However, there are 30 electricity poles blocking the cycle path on one side of the street and another 15 on the other. There are signs that the lanes are closed. It is clear that the poles will be moved. It is not clear when this will happen. So I checked with MassDOT.
MassDOT says it has done its job. It says 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 quickly as possible.
Here’s the problem: the poles carry electricity, telephone, cable lines and sometimes more. Eversource said it has moved a “significant” portion of its electrical wires to the new poles.
“Complex” process of moving poles
Both Eversource and Verizon say they are not allowed to touch equipment that belongs to other companies, so they must wait until everyone else has removed or moved their wires. Once that’s all done, they can remove the posts.
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When will that be? Well, I asked if it would take weeks, months or longer. They did not dare to guess that the process is ‘complex’.
Once the posts have been removed, the cycle paths will of course have to be rebuilt. So there is still a lot of work to be done. Until then, Ian Whiting and other cyclists will be riding the road.
If you have a question that you would like us to investigate, please email questionseverything@cbsboston.com.
