National Grid requests City Council go-ahead to replace gas mains around Felton Street

By ARTIE KRONENFELD

Energy company National Grid has asked the Waltham City Council for permission to replace 4,375 feet of gas mains in the Felton Street neighborhood.

National Grid representative Mary Mulroney detailed the company’s plans at the council’s Oct. 14 meeting, saying National Grid wants to replace the older gas mains along Felton Street and some connecting roads with new plastic piping. 

Mulroney said construction would take at least three months, although weather conditions could extend that timeline.

The company is hoping to complete this project by September 2026, she said, noting that it needs to be completed before work on the street planned by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority.

Multiple councilors raised concerns about properly vetting a construction project at this scale. 

Ward 7 Councilor Paul S. Katz drew parallels to a similar National Grid project along South Street proposed in December 2024, which National Grid later determined was too large and needed to be broken down into smaller pieces. “And we haven’t heard anything about it since,” Katz added.

He acknowledged that the MWRA’s role in this situation would affect when or if National Grid would complete its project — but requested that the council ask National Grid the same logistical questions it asked the company about its South Street project.

Other councilors also asked Mulroney for additional specifics on the project. 

Ward 9 Councilor Robert G. Logan requested more detail about the construction timeline and plans for repaving streets, traffic mitigation and material storage. He also requested the city’s Law Department appear at committee meetings next week to clarify the city’s ability to allow construction work along private ways. 

Ward 5 Councilor Joey LaCava asked Mulroney to provide further information about National Grid’s requirements for meter locations at private residences.

Councilor-at-Large Randall J. LeBlanc asked Mulroney to confirm that new pipelines would operate under low pressure.

According to the federal Pipelines & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, cast iron pipes are “among the oldest energy pipelines constructed in the United States,” and as such, without the benefit of modern construction techniques, pose a heightened risk of malfunctioning. Only 1% of pipes nationally are still made of cast iron.

Around 87% of the pipe around Felton Street that National Grid proposes to replace is currently cast iron, the oldest of which goes back to 1900. The rest is a mixture of midcentury steels and modern plastic.

National Grid also requested the council’s permission to move a vent pipe, that is currently on private property, inward toward Hall Street. Logan requested Mulroney clarify whether the new placement of the pole would be ADA compliant.

The council referred both items to the City Council’s Licenses and Franchises Committee for further discussion at its meeting next week.

In other business, City Council

• Voted to preliminarily approve $6,356,860 for an amphitheater dedicated to the arts, and an athletic area on the former Fernald State School — the final two stages in the city’s plan to redevelop the property into community recreation facilities.
• Accepted a resolution recognizing patients, survivors and medical professionals battling breast cancer for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, introduced by Councilor-at-Large Carlos A. Vidal.
• Accepted a resolution celebrating the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Navy and Waltham citizens’ roles in its history, introduced by Ward 6 Councilor Sean T. Durkee.
• Formally approved a total of $1,019,825 in Community Preservation Act funding to pay for restoration projects at two historic Waltham churches.
• Requested Mayor Jeannette A. McCarthy provide a diagram for her proposal to create a bike and pedestrian lane along Lowell Street, which will be discussed next week at the City Council’s Committee of the Whole.
• Opened a public hearing for the residents of 25 Tavern Road to open the sidewalk in front of the property for electrical work, which will be taken up next week at the Licenses and Franchises Committee.

Approved funding requests taken up last week by the Finance Committee, including the renovation of the Common Street garage, new traffic and trash infrastructure, a transfer between auditors’ accounts for office chairs, and initial funding to hire a project manager for the Department of Public Works headquarters’ upcoming move to the Fernald property.