Norwood Conservation Commission Approves Order of Conditions for $2M-Plus Duct Bank

NORWOOD — January 7, 2026 — Norwood Conservation Commission unanimously approved an Order of Conditions for a Norwood Municipal Light Department underground electric duct bank along Pleasant Street and Dean Street. The Commission voted 4-0 to clear the roughly six-tenths-of-a-mile project, which carries a construction estimate exceeding $2 million, with special conditions including dewatering notification requirements and sediment controls near the Neponset River. Environmental scientist Dan Kanata of BHP and Light Department representative Jason Haver told commissioners the project would extend underground feeder capacity into the underserved southern portion of Norwood, improving reliability for residential and commercial customers. Construction is expected to run April through September 2026. Separately, the Commission took up two interim repair options for the degraded Guile Pond spillway — a sandbag cofferdam estimated at $166,000 to $293,000 with a two-to-three year lifespan, and a concrete block cofferdam estimated at roughly $323,000 with no defined lifespan — but took no action, agreeing instead to seek additional design specifications from engineer PAR Corps and input from DPW Director Mark Ryan before the annual spring fishing derby in May.