Medford Deploys Over $400,000 to Repairing Streets this Fall

The City is in the process of completing significant road repairs to 28 streets this fall construction season through crack sealing and patchworking, Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn announced.

By leveraging over $290,000 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding and securing $113,000 from the Stabilization Fund, approved by the City Council, the Engineering Department and its contractor have been able to repair and repave portions of highly trafficked roads identified as ideal candidates for these types of maintenance measures.

“We’ve been steadily working through our backlog of street and sidewalk repairs that had gone neglected for decades,” Mayor Lungo-Koehn said. “With the help of our Pavement Management Report, we’re able to identify roads that are eligible for cost effective preventative maintenance measures like crack sealing and patchworking, while securing additional funding for our larger road rebuilding projects.”  

The City has completed its crack sealing project of 21 roads as identified in the City’s Pavement Management Report, as most in need of preventative maintenance. These streets have endured weathering that creates gaps and cracks which occurs when water infiltrates roadway surfaces causing the asphalt to expand, leaving gaps in the pavement which can potentially cause damage to vehicles and pedestrians. Through a process called ‘crack sealing’, these narrow cracks in the roadway are filled with liquid asphalt that seal the opening and prevent water and other liquids from infiltrating the surface. Crack sealing is a preventative measure that prolongs the life of a road and avoids having to make major structural repairs. 

You can view a list of roads approved for crack sealing this season here.  

The Engineering Department, in collaboration with the Mayor and DPW, has been holding National Grid accountable for completing road work that crews are compelled to repair at job sites throughout the City, a practice that had never been done in prior administrations. Since the beginning of the year, National Grid has repaired over 400 roadways and sidewalk locations. This includes over a dozen long trenches on roads within the municipality. They will be continuing the restoration work in the spring. 

The majority of the total funding, roughly $360,000 is being devoted to a substantial patchworking project across seven of the City’s most travelled streets. Patching of roadways is done when a full road rebuild is not required. Patching extends the life of the road and improves navigability without altering traffic routes for an extended period—a common practice during road rebuilds. 

The streets slated for patchwork are: 

• Main Street - Willard Ave to Ellis Ave., and Willard Ave. to Morton Ave. 
• George Street – Marston St. to Brookings St. 
• Columbia Road – Main St. to Mystic Ave. 
• Freedom Way - Riverside Ave. to first driveway 
• Bradbury Ave - Third St. intersection 
• Pitcher Ave - High St. to Lakeview Ave. 
• Salem Street – Dudley St. & Paris St. Intersection 

For more info on the City’s engineering projects, visit https://www.medfordma.org/departments/engineering.