Published in the December 11, 2018 edition.

WAKEFIELD — National Grid reports progress in preparing portions of the route for the installation of a planned Woburn to Wakefield electrical transmission line. Crews have recently been seen working in the abandoned railroad bed between New Salem and Salem streets.

Workers have removed the majority of railroad track and ties on the right-of-way between Salem Street and Fitch Court. Contractors have also cleaned trash and other debris that had accumulated over the years from this section of the right-of-way.

Over the next two weeks, residents can expect to see crews working to complete the following tasks along other sections of the right-of-way:

Removal of unused rail and ties.Installation of rock barriers at access created due to clearing to limit future dumping along the right-of-way. Test pit work to confirm subsurface conditions.Removal of abandoned appliances and machinery; stacks of rails and ties, piles of asphalt and general debris.

Substation
Update

While on-street construction is still some time away, upgrades at the Wakefield Junction Substation off of Montrose Avenue are underway. This work includes contractor and equipment mobilization. Once all materials are on site, the first steps for construction at the substation will be focused on building the new 35-foot sound wall.

Project
Overview

A strong electrical transmission system is vital to the region’s safety and economic prosperity. To improve reliability and address growing electricity demands identified by ISO-NE, National Grid and Eversource have teamed up to implement the Greater Boston and New Hampshire Solution, comprised of various projects in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

One of the proposed projects is the Woburn to Wakefield Line, a new 345-kilovolt (kV) underground transmission line that will connect Eversource’s Woburn Substation in Woburn and National Grid’s Wakefield Junction Substation in Wakefield. The proposed line will extend approximately 8.5 miles between two existing substations, passing through Woburn, Winchester, Stoneham, and Wakefield, MA. The project also includes improvements within the existing fence lines of the Woburn and Wakefield Substations.

Eversource will be constructing the new line from the Woburn substation through Woburn, Winchester and Stoneham. National Grid will complete construction from the Stoneham/Wakefield border to the Wakefield Junction Substation.

Further information about the Woburn to Wakefield transmission line project is available at www.ma-nhsolution.com/woburn_to_wakefield_line_project.

Anyone with questions about the above referenced work is encourage to call the dedicated project hotline (844-646-8427) or email info@ma-nhsolution.com.

Wakefield residents may sign up to receive updates on Wakefield portion of the Woburn to Wakefield Line Project at https://www.wakefieldnationalgridnewsletter.com/.