Planning Board approves Old Winter Street blasting with $10 million damage backstop

LINCOLN — September 23, 2025 — Lincoln Planning Board greenlights Old Winter Street blasting with a written guarantee that any documented damage will be paid for. The 4-0 vote approved an amendment to the Plough family's construction mitigation plan at 44 Old Winter Street to allow five to seven days of controlled blasting along the driveway. GZA geotechnical engineer Andrew Blaisdell told the board the design predicts under 0.9 inches per second of ground vibration at the closest home, 120 feet away — about 45 percent of the 2.0 inches-per-second federal damage threshold. Main Drilling and Blasting carries $10 million in liability insurance and contractor Onyx carries $11 million; both must compensate abutters within 500 feet for damage shown by pre- and post-blast comparison, "even if the blasts were within the prescribed limits," per a condition read by Planning Director Paula Vaughn. Co-Chair Lynn DeLisi, who said she had been prepared to vote no, told the room that "people should not do anything on their property that puts their neighbors at risk."