Awaiting Report Item Numbers 17-81, regarding speeding on Field Street and Awaiting Report Item Number 17-106 …

In response to the council orders regarding the Alewife Sewer Separation project, staff report the following:

ALEWIFE SEWER SEPARATION PROJECT AND FEDERAL COURT ORDER:

The Alewife Sewer Separation project was part of the court-ordered Massachusetts Water Resources Authority’s (MWRA) Long-Term Control Plan for reducing combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs) and improving the water quality of the Boston Harbor. The City met the federal court milestone for sewer separation in December 2015, marking a significant achievement for the City, the MWRA and the region. Combined Sewer Overflows from the Alewife neighborhood have been eliminated, directly improving water quality of the Alewife Brook, Mystic River and Boston Harbor.

An excerpt from the Final MWRA Annual Report to the Federal Court provides some context for the project and highlights its importance.

In the late 1980s, the Boston area had the dubious distinction of having the dirtiest harbor in America. If someone fell into the Charles, Mystic, and Neponset Rivers, a trip to the hospital for disinfection was strongly recommended. The urban beaches were frequently closed for days, even after the most modest of rain events.... Residents living along the waterfront often had to close their windows because of the foul smell of the harbor. The situation was a national embarrassment for the region.

Today, the results of our efforts are an irrefutable success. Our beaches are now considered the cleanest urban beaches in the country. The water quality of the Charles and Mystic Rivers has been rated a B plus. In fact, swimming races are held in the Charles River and efforts are afoot to reopen a bathing beach. The greater harbor has rejuvenated itself and is swimmable, even during rain events. It is truly a great environmental success story and the CSO program has played a critical role.

Our partners at the Boston Water and Sewer Commission, Cambridge, Brookline, and Chelsea deserve high praise for their professionalism in completing the difficult projects in their communities. Further I thank the residents and businesses for their patience through the disruptive construction on their streets and in their neighborhoods.

Fred Laskey, Executive Director, MWRA OTHER IMPROVEMENTS:

Although the primary goals of the project were to complete sewer separation; protect local waterways and improve water quality, the project provided an opportunity to improve infrastructure throughout the contract areas. The contracts included:

• 15 miles of sidewalks
• 150 pedestrian ramps
• 10.5 miles of new sewer and drain mains
• 6 miles of gas mains
• 6 miles of water mains
• 300 new street trees

While the community was significantly impacted and inconvenienced by the construction, the benefits of the improved utilities, streets and sidewalks will benefit the community and the larger region for generations.

STREET DESIGNS:

The design of the streets in the three contract areas was established through an extensive community process where city staff presented Traffic Calming and Complete Streets’ principles as a basis for designing streets that are accessible and friendly to all users. The designs include fully accessible sidewalks; curb extensions at crosswalks, existing trees and new trees; raised crosswalks; new crosswalk locations; rain gardens and other design elements that have improved safety and enhanced the street experience for all users.

The overall approach to a comprehensive street design and the impact of construction on the community was recognized by Judge Stearns, the Federal Judge overseeing the Boston Harbor Cleanup:

I am very impressed with the surface restoration work that is now underway in Cambridge, especially the innovative and attractive “green” storm water runoff basins that are being installed. The restoration work … will be enduring gifts to the City and citizens of Cambridge who have endured the disruptions and inconveniences that this massive (and necessary) undertaking has entailed.

Judge Stearns United States District Court of Massachusetts Compliance Order Number 238 December 21, 2015 SPEEDING CONCERNS:

The City will be evaluating speeds on the various streets and is currently collecting traffic volumes and speeds in an effort to review the post construction conditions. With the extensive number of streets, the data collection will take at least a month to collect and then some time to process. City staff can then evaluate concerns about speeding and determine if additional modifications are warranted.

SCHEDULE AND COST CHANGES:

Given the size of the Alewife Sewer Separation area, the project was broken in to 3 contracts:

Huron A, Huron B and Concord Ave. The duration of each of the contracts was extended by approximately one year from its original schedule.

Huron A Contract Start:

September 2012 Original Completion: December 2014 Actual Completion: November 2015 Huron B Contract Start:

September 2013 Original Completion: September 2016 Actual Completion:

December 2017 Concord Ave Contract Start:

February 2014 Original Completion: August 2016 Actual Completion:

August 2017 The overall value of the contracts has increased from the original bid value of $69,700,000 to $90,300,000. The most significant increase in cost was associated with the replacement of the over 100-year-old riveted steel 40” water transmission main on Huron Avenue between Fresh Pond Parkway and Gurney Street ($7,500,000).

These schedule delays and cost increases are consistent with what we would expect for this type of heavy utility construction, in a dense urban environment and are primarily associated with added work items such as the replacement of the over 100-year-old 40” water transmission main on Huron Avenue; extensive coordination required between the three contracts; coordination with private utility companies such as Eversouce Gas, which has replaced over 6 miles of gas mains in the contract areas; planting of trees that are season dependent; resequencing of work to ensure the completion of the sewer separation by December 2015; and schedule modifications to reduce impacts on residents and businesses, such as prohibiting significant construction on Huron Avenue in the business district between Thanksgiving and New Year’s in both 2015 and 2016.

Contract Bid Value Huron Ave Water Main Change Orders Total Value to Complete Huron A $15,500,000 $3,900,000 $19,400,000 Huron B $30,000,000 $7,500,000 $5,400,000 $42,900,000 Concord Ave $24,200,000 $3,800,000 $28,000,000 Totals $69,700,000 $7,500,000 $13,100,000 $90,300,000 Approximately 50% of the project costs are funded by the MWRA and 50% by the City.

FUTURE UTILITY PROJECTS:

For all of the City’s major construction projects, staff work closely with residents and businesses to prepare them for the construction and try to minimize the disruption. However, we know that construction is always challenging and disruptive – particularly large-scale utility 77% 8% 15% HURON A, HURON B & CONCORD AVE Bid Value: $69.7M Water Main: $7.5M Change Orders: $13.1M construction like the Alewife Sewer Separation Project, the recently completed Western Avenue project, or the upcoming Port Project.

Staff are frequently asked how the next city project will be different from the Alewife Sewer Separation Project. The Alewife project involved $100M of construction in a dense residential neighborhood subject to a challenging court-ordered schedule. Other city projects are typically smaller in scale and not subject to a court-ordered schedule, so they can be phased. The first phase of the Western Avenue Program (Western Avenue and the new stormwater outfall) was approximately $20M and the first phase of the Port Project (Parking Lot 6 tank) is estimated at $20M. The first phase of the Port Project is scheduled to begin in spring 2018 and will have limited impact on residential streets; being contained mostly in the City’s Parking Lot 6, with utility connections on Bishop Allen Drive and Mass. Ave. The second phase of the Port Project will involve the neighborhood streets and we will work with the community to evaluate phasing alternatives. The design process for the second phase will begin in 2018, with construction to begin in 2019, pending input from the community on how best to phase the work.