Open House May 11 for Eversource Electrical Project

– Ken Krause

Eversource Energy is holding an open house at Medford High School on Monday evening, May 11, about another major utility project being proposed through Medford.

Eversource (formerly NStar) is proposing to install a new 115-kilovolt underground electricity transmission line in an 8-mile route connecting the Woburn Substation to the Mystic Substation in Everett.

The Medford portion of the proposed route is about 3.2 miles long and extends north-to-south from the Winchester line on Winthrop Street to the Somerville line on Mystic Avenue.

Starting at the Winchester line, the proposed route follows Winthrop Street south, through the rotary at High Street and then under Mystic Valley Parkway and the Mystic River. It then turns east to follow South Street to Main Street/Mystic Avenue, then will continue down Mystic Avenue into Somerville and then to Boston, where it will again cross the Mystic River to finally reach the Mystic Substation in Everett.

In most places, the plan is to bury the line (8 inches) in a trench about 2-feet wide parallel to the existing electrical lines under the streets. However, at the Mystic River in Medford, Eversource is proposing to use the horizontal directional drilling (HDD) technique.

The project is to be constructed in 2017 and 2018.  However, Eversource must file its plans with the Massachusetts Energy Facilities Siting Board by the end of this month and is thus seeking public input.

Monday’s open house will take place from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the library at Medford High School, 489 Winthrop Street.

More information on the project can be found on the Eversource website.