Road Work to Impact Somerville Bicycle Routes

Somerville’s Beacon Street will receive an overlay resurfacing and re-striping in mid-October to address the deteriorated road surface until the roadway’s full-depth reconstruction project starts next spring, and cyclists are strongly encouraged to seek alternate routes until that work is completed later this month.

Weather permitting, this interim repaving work is scheduled for the week beginning Sunday, Oct. 18, and will be completed within two days, with restriping done during the following week. The work is being undertaken through a partnership between the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and the city of Somerville.

Until the interim improvements are made, bicyclists are asked for their safety, to take one of two detour options to avoid Beacon Street. One for east bound cyclists to Inman Square and one for westbound cyclists to Porter Square that will extend trips only minimally by using Somerville Avenue and Dane Street.

Maps of these detour routes are online at somervillema.gov/beaconstreet and will also be available in hard copies placed in boxes near the Somerville/Cambridge city lines along Beacon Street. Electronic message boards will alert cyclists. Temporary detour signs will also be installed.

This interim repaving measure will keep the roadway in smoother condition through the start of the full-depth reconstruction project next spring. Sewer and water repair work began along the roadway this past spring and will be completed this fall.

Temporary and permanent easements needed for the project were acquired this past summer, and the State subsequently placed to project out to bid. The State is expected to award a contract for the project in November, and completion of the project is expected during the 2018 construction season.