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Revere public art installations await MassDOT permits after years of delay, officials say
Summary
City and commission members say underpass and other exterior art work is finished or ready, but MassDOT permitting and property ownership issues have delayed installations for years.
Members of the Revere Public Arts Commission and city staff told the commission on a weekly meeting night that several public-art projects are complete or ready for installation but cannot be placed while MassDOT and other agency permits remain outstanding.
The commission’s community development staff member said the work for several locations has been produced and is waiting only for state permitting and DPW engineering sign-off. “We are waiting for the MassDOT permit, which has taken years,” the staff member said. “We have the work to hang. It’s been completed. We’re just waiting for the permit.”
Commission members recounted projects at Sargent Street, the Northern Strand Trail and a Route 1A underpass as examples. The Sargent Street installation has been hung in the underpass but “needs some love” around the framing and surrounding painted area, the staff member said. The Northern Strand Trail piece was described as completed and already drawing visitors; the Route 1A underpass work was finished this past year but still required installation permitting.
Commissioner Joanne, a Ward 1 councilor who helped draft the municipal ordinance that created the commission, said permitting with MassDOT and permit staff turnover have created lengthy stops and starts. “It’s been taking way too long,” she said. The commission noted it is waiting on a final DPW traffic-plan response before resubmitting paperwork to MassDOT.
Separately, the group described a separate, earlier mural project that was not installed because the building was owned by the MBTA and the agency declined permission. A commissioner said artists had been selected and work prepared but the MBTA would not allow painting, which ended the plan for that particular wall.
Commission members said the permitting logjam is the main barrier to moving multiple ready-to-install projects forward rather than funding or artist availability. They discussed next steps for resubmission once DPW engineering provides final comments and for continuing to press agency contacts to clear the outstanding permits.
The commission is also planning public events to highlight completed pieces once installations are finalized, including a proposed celebration for the Northern Strand Trail work when weather permits.
