DPW warns of staffing shortfalls as paving season begins; Eversource restoration timelines remain lengthy

Donna Escalia, speaking for the Department of Public Works, told the Traffic & Planning Committee she expects the mill-and-overlay contractor, Warner Brothers, to mobilize in the city in the next few weeks and that paving activity will ramp up in about a month. Escalia said the engineering division is coping with "really significant staffing challenges" and multiple vacancies, which has slowed project scheduling and delivery. "When you don't have the staff, you don't have the staff," she said. Escalia also said utilities operated by Eversource are performing long-running work in the city and that the company "owes me a lot of restoration" where it has cut pavement. She said Eversource typically does temporary trench patches and later returns for a mill-and-overlay restoration; the city expects crews to return to clean up and complete final pavement restoration in the coming months. Escalia said the staffing shortage is industry-wide and that the city is engaging outside consulting engineers where possible, but multiple vacancies make in-house delivery difficult. The committee did not take formal votes related to these operational updates, but members asked staff to include restoration expectations in mayoral messaging so residents know temporary patches will be followed by final restorations.