National Grid plans to replace 1.5 miles of bare power lines along Washington Street into Rockport; Gloucester council committee backs six utility petitions, including a fiber line for Applied Materials

National Grid plans to replace about 1.5 miles of bare overhead power lines along Washington Street, from Gloucester into Rockport, with covered cable that is less likely to fail when a branch touches it. The utility's representative described the project to the Gloucester City Council's Planning and Development Committee on Wednesday, Nov. 4, which recommended three new poles for it along with three other utility petitions.

What happened

• The committee recommended that the City Council approve six petitions: three Washington Street poles for the line project, a fiber optic line to Applied Materials on Blackburn Drive and Dory Road, and underground electric service on Adams Hill Road and Highland Street. All six were 3 to 0, from the meeting video.
• The proposed change to the zoning ordinance's dimensional rules for multifamily dwellings was continued to Dec. 2.
• A National Grid pole petition for Madison Avenue was continued to Nov. 18.

Washington Street line project

National Grid's representative said the three bare wires at the top of the poles along Washington Street can fault when brush touches them in a storm or on a windy day, knocking out power to a house or a whole neighborhood. The company plans to replace 1.5 miles of them with spacer cable, three covered wires that are safer for wildlife and for anyone who touches them by accident. The covered cable is heavier, so many existing poles will be replaced.

The three petitions before the committee are for short stub poles near 1 Woodbury Street, 1263 Washington Street and 1269 Washington Street. Each would replace a guy wire that is now anchored to a tree, which the company no longer does. Crews replace two or three poles a day, work section by section, and plan no outages. The representative said the start date is not set and work might begin by the middle of next year. A related petition was before Rockport the day before. (Read our Nov. 3 preview of the Rockport Select Board meeting, which listed a hearing on National Grid poles on Granite Street.)

Fiber line for Applied Materials

CommLink Integration Corp. asked to bury two 4 inch conduits along Blackburn Drive and Dory Road to carry fiber optic cable between the Applied Materials campus and its building at 11 Dory Road, with access handholes every 250 feet. The work would take three to four weeks, and the company hopes to finish this year. Chair Jason Grow said the city's road opening season ends Nov. 15, and the DPW director has said he will work with the company, which is also extending a water line. Because Blackburn Drive is the one way in and out for the industrial park and carries many trucks, the committee added a condition that the road be properly repaved in the spring after a temporary winter patch. Asked whether a data center is going in, the applicant said no. (Read what Applied Materials has bought and is building on Dory Road. Its federal contracts are covered in our look at Cape Ann's federal contracts.)

Two smaller jobs

• 43 Adams Hill Road: 95 feet of new underground conduit from an existing handhole so the property can upgrade its electric service. About one day of work, four to six weeks out, with the customer repaving the road and sidewalk.
• 27 Highland Street: about 30 feet of conduit so the house can take its service underground from the pole. About half a day; most of the trench is in grass in the public way.

Each petition carries the Department of Public Works' standard conditions: 72 hours notice before work, a construction schedule, trenches patched flush with hot mix asphalt at the end of each day, sidewalks restored, and paving approved before a road opening permit is issued.

What was decided

• PP#2026-006, 007 and 008, National Grid stub poles on Washington Street: recommended to the City Council, 3 to 0 each, from the meeting video.
• PP#2026-009, CommLink underground fiber on Blackburn Drive and Dory Road: recommended, 3 to 0, with a spring repaving condition, from the meeting video.
• PP#2026-010, National Grid underground conduit on Adams Hill Road: recommended, 3 to 0, from the meeting video.
• PP#2026-011, National Grid underground conduit on Highland Street: recommended, 3 to 0, from the meeting video.
• Multifamily dimensional requirements amendment (Section 3.2.2): continued to Dec. 2.
• PP2026-012, Madison Avenue pole: continued to Nov. 18.

What happens next

• The six recommendations go to the full City Council, which next meets Tuesday, Nov. 10.
• Nov. 18: the committee takes up the Madison Avenue pole petition.
• Dec. 2: the committee returns to the multifamily dimensional amendment.

Where to find the records

• Committee agenda, Nov. 4 and packet
• Zoom recording, on the city's November 2026 Past Meetings page
• Standing committee documents, where minutes are posted when approved

Earlier coverage: the committee's Oct. 21 meeting (Oct. 24), where it dropped the coastal lot size change; Applied Materials has bought $23.6 million of Gloucester land and is building about 431,000 square feet more (Nov. 2); Gloucester's most dangerous roads: 266 crashes on Washington Street, no fix funded, and a $30 million paving backlog (Oct. 27).

How we did this: Cape Ann Current watched the meeting online and checked names and petition numbers against the agenda. These are our meeting notes, not the committee's minutes.