The City’s contractor, Newport Construction, will wrap up the first phase of construction at Mass Ave and Dunster Street this week, weather permitting. All work will be contained within work site fencing.
Dunster Street is anticipated to reopen to vehicular traffic on Tuesday, November 19.
The next phase of the project is expected to begin on Wednesday, November 20th with an anticipated duration of 11 weeks. This phase will include:
- Installation of a trench drain along the south side of the MBTA headhouse for improved drainage.
- Accessible sidewalk restoration (between Dunster St. and JFK St, in front of the businesses).
- Building ADA compliant accessible pedestrian ramps for access.
What to Expect During Construction:
- General work hours are 7 a.m.-4 p.m., Monday through Friday. There will be intermittent off-hours work as needed. The contractor has obtained a noise variance from the License Commission and these hours will be updated on the project page.
- Please check posted No Parking signs.
- Access to businesses will be maintained during construction including those utilizing food delivery services such as Uber Eats.
- “Business Open During Construction” signage will be installed to support local merchants.
- A portion of JFK Street will be closed during this phase of work. Detours will be in place.
Please see the map on the attached notice. - Electronic message boards will be placed prior to work beginning.
All construction-related updates and impacts will be posted on the Harvard Square Plaza project page
www.cambridgema.gov/departments/publicworks/cityprojects/2021/harvardsquarekioskandplaza. If you would like to receive email updates, please sign up under the Contact Tab on the project page.
For Information and Assistance During Construction:
Questions regarding this project: Contact Linda Spencer, Project Administrator-Community Relations at 617-349-9734/ lspencer@cambridgema.gov or Melissa Miguel, Supervising Engineer at 617-349-9351/ mmiguel@cambridgema.gov . If you have any special needs or disabilities, please contact us to arrange for special accommodation that may be necessary.
In case of a construction emergency, please call the Cambridge Public Works Department 24-hour
hotline at 617-349-4800.
We appreciate your patience and cooperation as we work to improve Harvard Square Plaza.
Kristen Kelleher
Community Relations Manager
Department of Public Works
147 Hampshire Street
Cambridge, MA 02139
