Boston PIC Approves National Grid Brighton Gas Infrastructure Upgrades and Externet Fiber Network

Uncategorized · Meeting of July 20, 2026

Boston's Public Improvement Commission approved 11 petitions at its June 30 hearing, authorizing National Grid gas infrastructure replacements in Brighton and eight Externet Systems fiber-conduit installations across Mattapan, Dorchester, East Boston, Hyde Park, Roslindale, and Jamaica Plain. City Engineer Parra Jaising presided, approving National Grid's replacement of two aging gas regulator vaults — one serving roughly 700 customers at Beacon Street and Reservoir Road since 1982, and one serving approximately 1,220 customers at Waverly and Mackin streets since 1970 — along with associated sidewalk, pedestrian-ramp, and lighting improvements. The Externet approvals cover just under 12,000 linear feet of new fiber conduit, each petition including a city shadow duct.

The session's sharpest exchange came when Jaising flagged that Externet's 301-foot run on New England Avenue in Dorchester cuts into a recently completed city reconstruction project praised by the Talbot-Norfolk Triangle community; Externet construction representative Arthur Pino committed to concrete encasing, a mill-and-pave 25 feet beyond each end of the trench, and a guarantee of workmanship to city standards. Dennis Kirkpatrick of the Roslindale Business Group appeared in public comment to request advance construction notice for the Washington Street fiber run and flagged its path through dedicated bus lanes.

In the full story:

• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report — 3,072 words

Source: the Uncategorized meeting of July 20, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.