Mystic to Woburn Line Project. Grant of Location Hearing Town of Winchester

Transcription

1 Grant of Location Hearing Town of Winchester

2 Purpose and Need A strong electrical transmission grid is vital to the safety, security and economic prosperity of the region. The transmission system serves a critical role to ensure that electricity flows with a high degree of reliability from wherever the power is generated to where power is needed. ISO-New England, the independent system operator for New England, concluded that there are inadequate transmission resources to serve the electricity needs in the Greater Boston/Metro West and surrounding area. To proactively address these deficiencies and the growing customer demands on the electric system, Eversource is implementing a series of transmission projects called the Greater Boston and Southern New Hampshire Solution. One of the selected projects to solve the identified system reliability problems is a new 115-kV power line between the existing Mystic and Woburn Substations, called the Mystic to Woburn Line Project. 1

3 Overview The Mystic to Woburn Line Project will install a new 115- kilovolt (kv) underground transmission line connecting the Mystic substation in Everett, MA to the Woburn substation in Woburn, MA. The line will extend approximately 8 miles, traversing through Boston (Charlestown), Everett, Medford, Somerville and Winchester. The Massachusetts Energy Facilities Siting Board (EFSB) approved the Project on March 9, The Project will include improvements within the existing Mystic and Woburn substations. 2

4 Permitting Permits Required Permits Secured Jurisdiction Energy Facilities Siting Board (EFSB) State Department of Public Utilities (DPU) State Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) State Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority State Conservation Commission Town of Winchester Grant of Location Street Opening Permits Town of Winchester Town of Winchester 3

5 Project Route Streets Impacted City / Town Winchester Streets Pond Street Woodside Road Wildwood Street Fletcher Street Bacon Street Main Street 4

6 Traffic Management Working in consultation with town, including Police and Fire, and state officials, including the Mass. Department of Transportation, Eversource has developed a set of Traffic Management Plans (TMP) for each section of the Mystic- Woburn Line Project. The TMPs include conditions specific to routing by the EFSB in its decision, a detailed site plan showing underground line location, hours of construction, area-specific traffic controls and more. 5

7 Work Hours Work Hours The majority of our work will be completed during daytime hours. Daytime work will begin after 7 a.m. and will finish on or before 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. The Town of Winchester may allow Eversource to work on Saturdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. at the sole discretion of the Director of Public Works. No work will be conducted on Town holidays, unless requested in advance by Eversource and written approval is granted by the Town. 6

8 What to Expect The safety of residents, local businesses, motorists, pedestrians, police details and our crews is our top priority. This Project requires our crews to work in the street for each phase of the Project including vault installation, trench digging/cable pulling/cable splicing, and restoration. Prior to construction beginning, residents may see survey crews marking vault locations, trench width and path, as well as existing underground utilities. The Project will use low-noise emitting equipment during any permitted nighttime construction hours. 7

9 Work Zone Construction Sequence - The Train Our work crews will be working in local streets for each phase of the Project: vault installation, trench digging, cable installation, cable pulling/cable splicing, and restoration. Typical Construction Sequence 1. Saw cut 2. Excavate 3. Install Vault / Pipe 4. Backfill 5. Temporary Restoration 6. Cable Pulling This image is for illustrative purposes only. It is not drawn to scale and does not represent any actual streets. 7. Cable Splicing 8. Permanent Restoration 8

10 Mystic to Woburn Line Project Construction Process Vault Installation Vault installation includes use of an excavator, dump or haul trucks, various utility pick-up trucks, and laborers to excavate a suitably sized excavation for the Vaults. Pre-cast concrete Vaults (10 x 10 x 30 ) are then set by a crane. There are six (6) Vault locations in Winchester. Steel plates are placed over excavation at the end of each work day, securing the worksite and allowing vehicle traffic to return to any portions of the roadway or lanes impacted by daytime construction. 9

11 Project Route Vault Locations The Mystic to Woburn Line Project includes 20 Vault locations over the course of the entire project route. Six (6) Vaults are located in the Town of Winchester. Winchester Vault Locations Vault 1 Vault 2 Vault 3 Vault 4 Vault 5 Vault 6 Eversource Property (adjacent to Woburn Substation) Installed in Spring 2018 Woodside Road (between Parker and Chesterford) Wildwood Street (between Warren and Lawrence) Bacon Street (between Church and Lagrange) Bacon Street (on DCR Property abutting Wedgemere MBTA Station) Main Street (between Stowell and Everell) 10

12 Construction Process Trench Excavation and Pipe Installation This phase begins with a trench excavation followed by pipe installation in a linear progression along the route. During the trench excavation crews will be excavating a trench that is typically about 4 5 feet in both width and depth. This excavation will occur at a pace of roughly feet per day depending on the location of other underground utilities. Pavement will be pre-cut neatly, with the use of pavement breaker or saw to confine pavement damage to the limits of the trench. All asphalt will be removed and loaded in a dump truck for off-site recycling/disposal. Forty foot sections of steel pipe are bent and placed into the trench and then welded into place. Similar to the Vault work, steel plates are placed over excavated trench at the end of each work day, securing the worksite and allowing vehicle traffic to return to impacted roadways. 11

13 Construction Process Cable Pulling & Splicing Cable pulling activities will occur at each of the installed Vault locations. The cable pulling set-up includes a tractor-trailertype reel assembly with three largediameter cable reels at one end of a cable pull. Following cable pulling operations, cable splicing will begin at each Vault location. Cable splicing is a specialized continuous operation performed by qualified technicians with a typical duration is 7-10 days working 24 hour shifts. During this time construction crews will occupy a portion of the roadway, leaving the remainder of the road passable to motorists. Once cable pulling and slicing are completed a dielectric fluid known as PTC oil, which is a highly refined petroleumbased mineral oil, is introduced into the new transmission line and is used to keep the cable insulated and cool. 12

14 Schedule* Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Final Decision from EFSB (approved) Received 2/28/18 Other State & Local Permitting Construction** Community Outreach Anticipated Project In-Service: 2020 * Subject to Change ** Pending Receipt of all Approvals 13

15 Community Outreach Stakeholders Municipal officials State and federal elected officials and regulators Property owners & tenants Businesses Project Communication for Municipalities Briefings & Presentations updates Project Communication for the Public Door to door outreach, including door hangers Project Hotline: Project webpage: Eversource.com 14

16 Website Updates Town-by-town construction updates will be posted regularly on the Project webpage. Sample Project web page: + 15

17 Stay Informed / Contact Information Project Manager Rob Collins Phone: (781) Robin.Collins@eversource.com Siting & Construction Services Nicole Bowden Phone: (857) Nicole.Bowden@eversource.com Community Relations William Zamparelli Phone: (617) William.Zamparelli@eversource.com For the Public: Eversource Transmission Hotline: Project Website: Project TransmissionInfo@eversource.com 16