Boston PIC Approves Charlestown Street Repairs, Advances Battery Storage Duct Bank

BOSTON -- August 8, 2024, Boston's Public Improvement Commission approved street repairs in Charlestown and the South End and sent five development projects to public hearing at its August 8 meeting. The commission unanimously approved a joint City of Boston Transportation Department and Public Works Department petition to reconstruct seven streets in the Lost Village neighborhood of Charlestown, including Hadley, Parker, Cambridge, Stark, Brighton, Caldwell, and Medford streets, adding pedestrian ramps, raised crosswalks, a bus lane, street trees, and lighting. The panel also cleared revised specific repairs for 1395-1405 Washington Street by The Wash LLC after the team redesigned its curb and 15-minute parking layout. Five new-business items were advanced to August 22 hearings, led by Jupiter Power's proposal for a roughly 1,000-linear-foot duct bank on Alfred and Dexter streets in Charlestown to connect a planned 700-megawatt battery storage facility in Everett to the Mystic substation, a project commissioners tied to pedestrian fatality history on the corridor and pressed for an elevated bike lane as part of the sidewalk reconstruction.