Six Months of Humphrey Street Digging Starts Soon

Expect more traffic on Humphrey Street in the near future but the plan is to maintain two-lanes open whenever possible, a National Grid spokesman said earlier.

Back in February selectmen approved the utility company's project — installing about three-quarters of a mile of underground conduit to carry communication and electrical lines along Humphrey Street.

Town officials expect the project to start in the next week or so.

The installation is projected to be complete by late fall, National Grid Engineer Phillip Courcy said when he met with selectmen.

Road crews will return in the spring of 2013 for finish paving.

The underground lines are intended to increase capacity and reduce the number of outages, said John Upham, a company spokesman.

Fiber optic lines are used by telecommunication companies to swift transmit large amounts of data for phone communications, internet connections and cable television, according to Wikipedia.

National Grid has had problems with electrical outages in that area, Upham said.

The Humphrey lines will extend from the intersection with Cedar Terrace — near Fisherman's Beach — to the Swampscott/Lynn line.

The work will start at the Cedar Terrace end and head toward Lynn, he said.

Work will also extend along roads off Humphrey. Patch will seek information on the entire workway route and publish it later.

On Humphrey crews will work in sections, opening up a four-foot wide trench anywhere from 20 to 60 feet long. At the day's end they will fill the section, Courcy said.

He expects the work day to start at 7 am and end at 3:30 pm.

Police will work traffic details.

Upham said travelers should expect additional congestion on Humphrey.

He also said access to businesses and residences will remain open.

Related Topics: National Grid