National Grid To Fix ‘Deplorable’ Pave Jobs

On May 13, Mayor Joseph M. Polisena announced that National Grid has agreed to fix what he called the “deplorable condition” of local roads after the town imposed a cease-and-desist order on the utility last week.

During an interview at , Polisena explained that National Grid workers dug up the roads to install gas lines and had a subcontractor pave over the trenches — but the work was done poorly, he said.

“Their contracting company would leave a space between (where they poured) the asphalt and the surface of the road,” Polisena said. “A lot of the residents thought that the town was doing this — we were pretty upset, because they were leaving the roads in deplorable condition.”

After the initial patch work, several of the roads had long trenches that were nearly two inches deep and two feet across — making for treacherous driving.

On May 9, Building Inspector Ben Nascenzi filed a cease-and-desist order, and the town compiled a list of streets that had been left in poor conditions.

Nascenzi said he also found that National Grid owed about $1,000 in permit fees that are typically paid when a permit is filed with the town.

“Due to the numerous permits that we issue to National Grid, we let them pull permits and pay a certain amount” in installments, Nascenzi explained, adding that the utility “started slacking off, and then before you know it, they fell behind.”

In an e-mail message, National Grid Spokesman David Graves wrote: "(O)nce we were contacted by the city about the concerns related to the paving issue, we were able to reach an agreement on practices going forward."

By May 13, many of the roads had been patched temporarily, and Nascenzi said the company plans to dig up the recent work to make permanent repairs.

“They have agreed to, one, hire a (police) detail; two, dig the roads up again in a timely manner; and three, patch the roads to the town’s standards,” Nascenzi said.

The mayor credited the threat of shutting down the utility’s work — which included the possibility of towing of National Grid vehicles from job sites — with the quick resolution.

“I did what they would do to any customer who wasn’t paying — I shut them off,” Polisena said.