Boston PIC Approves Harvard Allston Utility Crossing, Eversource East Boston Vault

BOSTON — July 20, 2026 — Boston's Public Improvement Commission approved a Harvard University utility crossing in Allston and an Eversource transformer vault in East Boston at its July 20 meeting, with five additional petitions continued to a June 16 public hearing. The commission voted unanimously to grant Harvard a private utility license for electric and telecommunications conduits and hot and chilled water lines crossing Western Avenue in Allston, the latest segment of the district energy microgrid Harvard committed to in its Institutional Master Plan; civil engineer Mark Young-Hands of PHB told the commission the design maintains roughly six feet nine inches of clearance from a 54-inch MWRA water main and that construction is set to begin this year. The commission also unanimously approved a grant of location for NStar Electric Company d/b/a Eversource to install a manhole and conduit on Liverpool Street in East Boston to serve 152-154 Liverpool Street. Five new-business items — a National Grid regulator vault on Railroad Street in West Roxbury and four Extinet Systems fiber-duct runs totaling more than 7,500 linear feet across Dorchester — were continued to June 16, with PIC staff directing National Grid to resolve a dispute over whether a proposed SCADA box sits on private or city-owned property before the hearing.