Adams Street Historic Streetscape

The City of Quincy is rife with history. Adams Street, which begins in Downtown Quincy and extends approximately seven miles into the center of Dorchester, is a historic district that is home to the Adams National Historic Park and John Adams’ home.

As both a historic tourist destination and a popular walking and biking route for locals, the half-mile between the Burgin Parkway and Whitwell Street needed context-sensitive transportation improvements for both vehicular and multimodal users that celebrated and preserved history while addressing modern needs.

Fuss & O’Neill redesigned the streetscape to achieve the goals of the project without impacting any private rights-of-way. We designed the road and sidewalks to be in compliance with current ADA and PROWAG standards. Where safely feasible, we designed bicycle infrastructure, adding five-foot-wide bicycle lanes on the roadway shoulders that connect the Burgin Parkway to the Milton town line. The addition of bicycle lanes helps the City further its goal of providing equity for multimodal roadway use and helps alleviate congestion in this heavily trafficked area.

During the project, the Fuss & O’Neill team uncovered some of the oldest utility infrastructure in Quincy. We worked with structural engineers and the City’s geotechnical engineer to design modern solutions. This portion of Adams Street was a critical path in the City’s hard-wired fire alarm reporting system, even though there were only two master boxes being affected by the project. The system relied on an old wooden telecommunications duct bank, which had collapsed. Fuss & O’Neill facilitated the integration of a new duct bank system in an already overcrowded roadway utilizing space under the sidewalk that was previously occupied by the street lighting system. As a forward-thinking solution, the duct bank systems and associated manholes were sized for future fiberoptics, which required careful coordination with the City and the contractor to ensure that the existing system remained active.

The street lighting design for this project presented several unique challenges and the prominent location at a significant historic building required a creative solution. Fuss & O’Neill worked with the City and a lighting representative to develop a period-style light fixture and pole that included a faux gas mantel to mimic historic fixtures as well as a primary LED light source to illuminate the roadway and sidewalks. Additionally, parking for the Adams National Historic Park and its trolley system was maintained.

This project was completed under an expedited schedule to facilitate a parade celebrating the City’s 400^th anniversary. The finished project is a unique blend of historic preservation and modern design. The importance of these improvements is underscored by the fact that Quincy is home to several Environmental Justice Block groups, including four Block groups immediately adjacent to the project area off Whitwell Street. Continuing to provide improved infrastructure for these neighborhoods helps achieve an additional City goal.