Eversource describes winter conduit work, gas‑main replacements; town presses on tree, sidewalk and scheduling protections

Eversource and Town of Needham staff briefed the Select Board on Oct. 29 about planned winter utility work that will include underground electric conduit on Webster Street and continued gas main replacements across the town.

Cara Sluste, Needham director of public works, said the Webster Street conduit is part of a larger electric modernization tied to the MWRA redundancy project. She said portions of the work on Highland Avenue fall under MassDOT jurisdiction and therefore are permitted separately; the company is seeking permits from Needham only for the segments within the town’s jurisdiction. Eversource told the board it will install manholes, place conduit and later “pull the cable,” a two‑stage sequence that has civil construction and then a less disruptive cable‑pull phase.

Joanne Callender, an Eversource representative, described a specific grant of location request earlier in the meeting for 160 Countryway to install “approximately 10 feet of conduit” from Pole 344 to provide underground electric service to a new all‑electric home; the board approved that…