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Eversource to fill in Harborwalk gap as part of expansion of South Boston substation

Park next to South Boston substation

Park next to the substation where the Harborwalk now ends. Photo by Eileen Murphy.

State energy regulators have signed off on plans by Eversource to expand its K Street substation in South Boston. The plans include connecting two parts of the Harborwalk path that now end near where the new equipment will go.

Eversource's wants to replace a quarter-acre parking lot on the Reserved Channel just west of the Summer Street bridge, with a new voltage regulator, roughly 27 feet on a side and 26 feet high, sitting atop crushed stone, surrounded by a 5-foot-high concrete flood wall. The plans include a 100-foot lightning rod.

In a filing with the state, the utility said it would fill in the gap on the Harborwalk at the site that now keeps strollers from walking completely around the channel. To keep them from getting into the high-voltage equipment, Eversource will add a fence, ranging in height from 15 to 26 feet.

State approval and project overview (1.9M PDF).

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Comments

Eversource hikes prices $200M and —according to the documents —decides to go with the cheaper fix for this substation (still located directly next to water, so not very smart in terms of climate-change planning). In return, they connect a part of the Harborwalk they were supposed to connect to begin with? Thank you Boston Harbor Now for at least bringing up the issue of maintaining and cleaning up the oft-vandalized park there.

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This is where they're going to film Good Will Hunting 2. Will reunites with Chuckie, who is now estranged from his wife, to go day drinking in this new "pahk" but end up starting a war with the hipsters who are upset over their disdain for recycling the empties.

Spoiler: Eventually the hipsters win and run them out of Southie. After binge watching Phantom Gourmet hiding from the hipsters, Will and Chuckie decide to flee to Marina Bay. They enjoy living there so much it leaves you guessing: did they lose Southie or gain a new wicked cool place to live?

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Glad to see this will extend the harbor walk somewhat. I didn't read the report in detail so I'm unclear if it goes all the way to connect the Morrissey Blvd north of the tank toTenean beach... but if it did that would be great... The Harbor walk would be much more useful and utilized for cyclists and runners if it connected here. Right now you have to go onto the streets to connect this section which is a very industrial and high traffic area with bad or no sidewalks..

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There's currently a gap right at the substation. They're only talking about that one small section.

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And you'll still have to go on the ped/bike unfriendly East First Street to connect from this side of the Reserved Channel to the Pappas side. Not yet a full loop. It does, however, connect on the L Street bridge.

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There is a bridge on Summer Street that spans the Reserved Channel.

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L Street and Summer Street are the same street. It's just one of those annoying Boston street name changes, like Winchester/Kelton/Warren/Sparhawk/Arlington street in Brookline/Brighton.

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to throw back a few brewskies.

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