The Department of Public Works (DPW) is responsible for managing the City’s infrastructure assets, including its roads, intersections, water and sewer utilities, and drainage systems. Capital planning activities include programming and implementation of the City’s Pavement Management Plan, Water System Study, and various sewer studies. The DPW also manages the City’s annual road reconstruction program and is responsible for long term planning on corridors such as Common Street and Mount Auburn Street. Please monitor this section for project-specific updates.

Annual Road Program

DPW presents a list of roads to the City Council for reconstruction each fall.  Roadway reconstruction includes not just the roadway surface, but also new granite curbing, concrete sidewalks, and accessible ramps.  This page includes presentations, concept plans, and construction information. 

Belmont Street Reconstruction Project (Mt Auburn Street to #88 Belmont Street)

This is a joint project with the City of Cambridge, which has care and control of the roadway.  The City will be contributing to the project by reconstructing sidewalks on the Watertown side of the street. The work is part of the City of Cambridge Complete Streets initiative to design and operate streets that are safe for all users including pedestrians, cyclists, motorists and public transit users.

Highland Avenue Reconstruction

Highland Ave. will be reconstructed in 2023. Also included in this project is reconstruction of Chapman Street, between Main Street and Grandview Ave.

Morse Street Reconstruction

The City has begun design for reconstruction of Morse Street.

Mount Auburn Street Complete Streets Project

The Town of Watertown is redesigning Mount Auburn Street to improve safety and better accommodate vehicles, transit, bicycles, and pedestrians.

Watertown Community Path

The Watertown Community Path is a proposed multi-use path that will provide pedestrians and bicyclists with a safe and easily accessible route through much of Watertown.

Watertown Complete Streets Program

A Complete Street is one that provides safe and accessible options for all travel modes – walking, biking, transit, and motorized vehicles – for people of all ages and abilities. Designing streets with these principles contributes toward the safety, health, economic viability and quality of life in a community by improving the pedestrian and vehicular environments and providing safer, more accessible and comfortable means of travel between home, school, work, recreation and retail destinations.

2021 Sewer System Improvement Program

The Town of Watertown is undertaking a sanitary sewer improvement project  including the installation of approximately 32,000 feet of cured-in-place (CIP) sewer pipe. This is commonly known as sewer lining. This process allows the contractor to reconstruct certain sections of badly deteriorated sewer “in place” rather than the traditional disruptive method of excavating and replacing the existing pipes.

Completed Projects