CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT

A detailed Construction Management Plan (CMP), approved by the City of Boston, has been developed to manage construction impacts on City of Boston streets. The CMP details construction vehicle routing, equipment staging, construction entrances, and pedestrian and bicycle accommodations around the site throughout construction. The work zone is typical of urban construction projects, with fencing and jersey barriers placed along Mass. Ave., Newbury Street, and Boylston Street.

This page attempts to give an overview of the project’s overall plan and impacts. Current and specific information is always available on the Current Construction Updates page and emailed to those who have signed up for notifications by email at least every two weeks.

Work Hours & OVERNIGHT WORK

Typical hours for project construction will be Monday - Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and select weekends. Extended hours may be required for select activities like continuous concrete pours. Overnight work will be carried out only when required for safety and operational reasons and with the approval of multiple agencies with jurisdiction in this complex environment. The project needs to build:

  • Over top of eight lanes of highway: hoisting live loads, performing demolition and removal, and other work in the highway cannot be done with traffic running below. Completion of this work requires closing multiple travel lanes and can only occur at night.

  • Over top of two Commuter Rail tracks and adjacent to the Green Line: some activities adjacent to trains needs to occur at night for safety and logistics reasons and are carefully coordinated with the approval of the owners and operators of the railtracks.

  • In coordination with extensive planning and logistics reviews with the MBTA and MassDOT engineering and operations teams.

  • Dependent both on weather and on other projects and maintenance occurring on the highway and railroad outside of this project.

Remaining Overnight work Expected and Project Milestones

  • Miscellaneous and isolated utility work required to occur overnight.

Mitigation & Management of Night Work:  The Build Parcel 12 team is actively planning and performing noise mitigation of required overnight work, including:

  • Pre-Planning – We have modified aspects of the project’s overall schedule to avoid driving piles near the railroad at night for an extended period

  • Avoidance – We perform high-impact work during daytime hours whenever safe to do so

  • Mitigating – We mitigate noise from work that must occur at night through the use of white noise backup alarms and sound blankets

  • 3rd Party Review – We are actively reviewing additional potential mitigation opportunities with our acoustical engineer and contractor as we transition to new activities

NOISE AND VIBRATION

There will be limited short-term situations where nighttime work is required within the highway to carry out work that cannot be implemented during the day time. The construction team will share updates by email (sign up for email notifications here) and on this website. Noise will be mitigated as much as possible for night work.

Project equipment has been equipped with quieter white-noise backup alarms. When work is active near the railway, the project must comply with mandatory MBTA/Keolis safety protocols, including the occasional use of airhorns by Keolis flaggers to alert workers to oncoming trains.

Pedestrian access

Pedestrian routes along Massachusetts Avenue and Boylston Street will generally remain the same throughout construction, and temporary sidewalk closures and diversions will be minimized as much as possible. Where needed for safety, pedestrians will be protected with standard safety barriers and overhead protection. Temporary walkways, appropriate lighting, and new directional and wayfinding signage will be set up to help direct people around the site.

Dust Control

Dust control mitigation measures will include:

  • Wetting agents where needed

  • Covered trucks

  • Periodic cleaning of streets and sidewalks to reduce dust accumulations

  • Tire wash stations

Odor Control

Odors are typically encountered when excavating through organic soils. Sprays and foams on open excavations will be used to minimize odor impacts.

Rodent Control

The contractor has filed a rodent extermination certificate with the City in connection with the building permit. Rodent inspection, monitoring, and treatment will be carried out before, during, and at the completion of all construction work for the Project, in compliance with the City’s requirements.