Above: Electricity Transmission poles that run through town are scheduled for an infrastructure upgrade. Community members with questions about the project are invited to an open house. (images edited from contributed materials)
National Grid has issued a “courtesy” notice about a Refurbishment Project that will take place in Southborough. They are inviting the public to attend a forum in two weeks.
The project “D-156” isn’t about standard utility poles on most streets in town. This focuses on the 5.5 mile overhead transmission line that runs from the substation on Northborough Road to south of Nichols Street. (See map right or click here for the pdf.)
The company plans to replace the aging infrastructure of 42 poles (most of which are wooden) with improved “weathered steel” models to “improve reliability”.
The communications acknowledges that some poles “may be slightly relocated or increased in height to meet engineering standards and protect the environment.” I followed up to ask about the potential height changes and was told:
It does vary by structure, but the majority of structures will increase in height between 5 ft. and 20 ft.
The work will mainly be from 7:00 am – 5:00 pm on weekdays, with some Saturday work. It is expected to include:
- Vegetation management, including brush removal and mowing, beginning as early as December.
- Site preparation including installation of environmental controls, maintaining and improving gravel access roads and work pads, and installing wood timber mats in wetland and environmentally sensitive areas.
- Large construction vehicles entering and existing the work sites.
- Placement of electrical and construction equipment within the right-of-way.
The forum on Tuesday, November 6th from 6:00 – 7:30 pm will take place at the Public Safety Building, 32 Cordaville Road. It is an open house and will not include a formal presentation. Instead, there will be team members there you can speak with directly to get an overview and ask any questions you have. Representatives will be there for:
- Project Management
- Engineering
- Construction Planning
- Environmental
- Stakeholder Management
You can also reach out to ask questions using their Project Hotline at 781-236-6286. But before you pick up the phone, check out the documents below that they asked me to share:
