Mount Auburn Street: A Complete Streets Project

Most Recent Updates

Last updated on November 7, 2025

Mount Auburn Street Project Update

Week of November 10 through November 14, 2025

*This includes work on Veterans Day, November 11, 2025

Milling

Milling (removal of the top layer of pavement) on Mount Auburn Street between Lloyd Road and Boylston Street is scheduled to continue Monday, November 10, 2025.

Paving

Once milling is complete, paving will take place on Mount Auburn Street between Lloyd Road and Boylston Street and is expected to be completed by Friday, November 14, 2025. Work will begin on the westbound side of Mount Auburn Street and then shift to the eastbound side once the westbound lanes are finished.

Traffic and Sidewalk Impacts

Detours will be in place during paving operations (see detour maps below).

Westbound Paving
While paving the westbound side of Mount Auburn Street between Lloyd Road and Boylston Street, access to Mount Auburn Street from Appleton Street, Hillside Road, and Langdon Avenue will be closed.

Traffic traveling toward Mount Auburn Street from Rangley Road or Edgecliff Road will be detoured via Hillside Road to Maplewood Street, then to Winsor Avenue, returning to Mount Auburn Street.

During this phase, traffic in both directions will be maintained using the two eastbound lanes.

Eastbound Paving
While paving the eastbound side of Mount Auburn Street between Lloyd Road and Boylston Street, access to Mount Auburn Street from Elton Avenue, Melendy Avenue, Dexter Avenue, Adams Street, and Boylston Street will be closed.

Traffic traveling toward Mount Auburn Street from Porter Street, Boylston Street, Dexter Avenue, or Melendy Avenue will be detoured via Nichols Avenue to Bigelow Avenue, returning to Mount Auburn Street.

During this phase, traffic in both directions will be maintained using the two westbound lanes.

Parking Impacts

Street parking in this construction area on Mount Auburn Street will be restricted. Please follow the parking closure signs that are posted by crews starting at 7:00 am each morning. Any parking closure signs that are posted will be removed from the area by 5:00 pm each day.

Drainage & Tree Trench Installation

Crews will perform drainage installation on Mount Auburn Street between Boylston Street and School Street.

Tree trench installation will occur between Upland Road and School Street next week on Mount Auburn Street. 

Traffic and Sidewalk Impacts

During this work, you can expect temporary lane shifts and possibly lane closures, but one travel lane in each direction will be maintained on Mount Auburn Street. Work will take place on the sidewalks, but they will remain open and accessible. Business entrances will be maintained as well. Work in these areas will begin at 7:00 am each day and end before 5:00 pm.

Parking Impacts

Street parking in the drainage installation construction area on Mount Auburn Street will be restricted. Construction crews will post parking closure signs in those areas starting at 7:00 am and will be removing them from the area by 5:00 pm each day.

Loaming

A landscaper contractor will be loaming tree pits and grass strips along the eastbound sidewalks on Mount Auburn Street between Arlington Street and Ralph Piteri Terrace.

Sidewalk Impacts

Sidewalks will remain accessible.

Getting Around Coolidge Square

During construction in the Coolidge Square area, Watertown’s Economic Development team developed the below graphic to help residents get around Coolidge Square, whether by car, bike, bus, or walking. Keep up-to-date with any road closures, bus stop impacts, or parking limitations in the work detailed above!

About the Project

The Mount Auburn Street project was initiated after a conceptual design was endorsed by the Town Council in November 2018. The Project Team submitted the 25% Design to the MassDOT in January 2020, and MassDOT held a 25% Design Public Hearing on November 4, 2021. Since then, the project team has submitted 100% Design plans for the corridor. 

The Mount Auburn Street Project will transform the corridor into a Complete Street, providing safe and accessible options for all modes. This project will also provide increased efficiency on the MBTA Bus Route 71, improve traffic operations and pedestrian and bicycle accommodations, improve accessibility in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and improved aesthetics.