By Dalia Diaz
On Tuesday, October 10, 2018, the brand new intersection of Milton Street and Haverhill Street, in the Towerhill section of Lawrence, seemed beautifully completed with its new sidewalks, paved streets, new signs, street lines, and street markings. On Wednesday, October 11, 2018, it was spray painted with red markings all over the newly completed intersection street and sidewalks. The red spray paint (sometimes painted yellow or white) indicates a potential repair of underground utilities (gas, water, or sewer).
Most of us just don’t understand how the City of Lawrence spends thousands, and even millions of dollars, in work projects of streets, sidewalks, and intersections, only to see them destroyed being dug up for utility underground repairs. One would think that the utility repairs would be completed prior to the beginning of the work and upgrade of the streets and intersections.
I know, as most residents do recognize, that there are ordinances and city policy that prohibits digging into these newly paved streets for a period of time after the paving has been completed. However, that has not been the case. It seems there is no project plan that one person, one group or department has created or maintained that would assist in ensuring this does not happen and if there is a plan then no one is following that plan. After all, the City of Lawrence has four engineers as well as a Project Planning Supervisor in their workforce.
The most disappointing aspects of the utility repair is that these utility repair companies do not fully repair the streets and make them whole, or should I say curb to curb. These companies make an 18 inch to 2 foot wide cut in the road, make the repair, and then cover up that sliver with dirt and tar only for us to see a dip in the road weeks later. The City of Lawrence has allowed these utility companies to cover these holes and create dips (which I consider holes) in almost every street in Lawrence. Is it not their jobs to go back and inspect the completion of work in the City of Lawrence streets? Of course, it is!
I understand that at this moment the City of Lawrence is dealing with a major gas utility emergency. But this situation (of tearing open streets and sidewalks for utility repairs) has been going on for some time. The City of Lawrence is supposed to have competent individuals in place to ensure this does not occur; Milagros Puello (City Engineer), Carlos Jaquez (DPW Director and also an engineer by trade), Brian Peña (Water & Sewer Commissioner, an engineer by trade), Franklin Miguel (Capital Assets Manager and an engineer by trade), Theodoro Rosario (Project Planning Supervisor, not an engineer), Mayor Rivera (CEO of Lawrence) and most importantly the city council members.
We know, by looking at each agenda, created by the City Clerk, that the Lawrence City Council approves many requests for utility companies to dig into Lawrence streets. The most recent approval was on the 2nd of October when they approved National Grid to place underground electric conduits and fixtures on Methuen and Hampshire Streets. On August 17, 2018, the City Council approved utility companies to dig into Pemberton Street and allowed Verizon to dig into three other streets for separate placement of underground conduits.
My point is that the City knows when these repairs need to happen and should take steps to ensure that they are completed well before they infuse all that money into any streets and sidewalk or intersection construction.
I also urge the City Council to examine policies to ascertain if the City administration is capable of creating and maintaining a plan to safeguard its residents. Why should we ask the council? Data, from all utility company dig permit applications that are submitted both to the City Council and at the DPW Administrative Office could provide valuable information that would have alerted city officials as to the state of utility underground properties, therefore being visibly attentive to the work and providing a scope as to the problem areas.
Why is it important to demand that the City Council conduct an independent investigation into the infrastructure of our city? Most residents don’t know that the City Council has to approve utility companies that need to make repairs, constructing telephone lines, or repair or upstand light fixtures in the City of Lawrence. For years, utility companies have come into Lawrence to cut, (paste and band-aid) our streets with utility repairs. Some work is done by independent contractors. It’s a patchwork of repairs, created and enabled by Mayors and DPW leaders, and approved by city councilors.
This may seem evident to many residents when they look at squares cut out of paved roads for work related to water, sewer, and gas, and sometimes electrical. Some residents even notice distribution companies or telephone companies erecting or dismantling poles and equipment throughout the streets and neighborhoods in Lawrence.
For the most part sewer and water do not need permission from City Council because the City owes that utility and can do whatever they deem necessary. However, utility companies are required to go before council for permission, while independent contractors (working for residents) get permission from the engineer’s office.
All this work is inspected under the state law, but the City has never demanded an assessment of underground utilities to see if it’s safe. Now one would think that seeing that gas companies and their contractors were digging so many holes in the City, that a red flag would somehow hit them in the head (literally and figuratively). I don’t have to place pictures alongside this article, of these cuts that are visible in our streets (which by the way are not paved or repaired correctly as evident by the drop and thumps when you drive your car through or around these craters), for people to know what I am writing. But I am placing a picture of the Milton and Haverhill intersection with its red spray markings.
If you really want to know one of the major issues that occurred, that should have awoken Mayor Rivera up before the Merrimack Valley Gas Fires, then you need to visit the streets of Haverhill and May (Margin) all the way up to Haverhill and Crescent Street. This is a 1/8th mile of street torn apart square by square by the Columbia Gas Company a few years ago when a major gas leak was found to be present in that location by the utility company. Somehow the company could not determine the exact location of the leak(s) and so they proceeded to dig around fifty squares each the size of about 4 feet by 4 feet for a bit more than 1/8th of a mile. Today, those squares are still present and craters (or maybe potholes) created due to the weak work of patching after the dig. I bet you don’t see that type of work in North Andover or Andover. You only see it in Lawrence, because our administration(s) don’t seek respect from these utility companies until something happens to businesses. This administration does not demand better expectations from utility companies or contractors doing work in Lawrence.
