Council clears State Street undergrounding/poll request with escrow condition to protect newly paved streets

The City Council approved Order 822 — a National Grid/ developer request to convert a planned overhead utility installation to an underground service on State Street — after a late correction to the submitted drawing and a short public exchange on April 27.

Correction and amendment: Committee members and an abutter had flagged a guy‑wire/anchor that mistakenly remained on the drawing even though the petition had moved to an underground design. The developer and National Grid submitted corrected plans on the record; councilors voted to replace the original map in the order with the corrected drawing.

Conditions: Because the street was recently paved, councilors and staff were concerned about opening a newly paved surface and the potential for post‑construction settling. The Department of Public Services director said the city is preparing a written moratorium policy on digging recently paved streets but that, in practical terms, the city still needs to allow utilities emergency or necessary access. As a compromise, councilers required the developer to execute an escrow agreement (amount to be determined by the DPS director) to cover potential street restoration and settling costs; the order was approved as amended.

Next steps: DPS will work with the developer and National Grid to finalize escrow terms and a work plan and will return any detailed restoration or bonding paperwork to the clerk’s office. The council directed the clerk to update the public materials to ensure the corrected drawing is posted with the order.

Quote: "We will prepare a moratorium and a policy so that we have a clear, written approach to any street opening on newly paved streets," the DPS director said.