A Brief History of Mount Auburn Street

1980s

Mount Auburn Street was last reconstructed by MassHighway as an Urban Systems project in the early 1980s.

2002

The 2002 Watertown Bicycle Transportation plan recommended reducing the number of travel lanes and adding on-street bicycle lanes to Mount Auburn Street.

Also in 2002, a portion of Mount Auburn Street was designated as a Historic District by the City of Watertown. The purpose of the Historic District is to preserve the distinctive architecture reflecting the character of Watertown’s rich cultural, social, economic, and political history which began on the banks of the Charles River in the early 1600s.

2007

The City of Watertown began redesigning Mount Auburn Street into a 21st century roadway that can safely carry all modes of transportation.

2009

The City of Watertown initiated the project with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) Highway Division by submitting project initiation and project need forms, as required by the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP).

2011

The City of Watertown hired WorldTech Engineering, LLC to conduct a Feasibility Study for Mount Auburn Street.

TODAY

The project team is currently developing the preliminary design for the project. With input from the public and various partner agencies, the team is designing the corridor's alignment, lane configuration, utilities, and right-of-way.