Farewell to Norwell Town Center's Double Pole

And just like that, a long-standing double utility pole on Norwell’s Central Street is gone.

The culprit behind the delays? Likely a data-entry error in the National Joint Utilities Notification System (NJUNS)—the system designed to provide efficient communication and work coordination—according to spokespeople from three different utility providers.

"Just by way of background on shared utility poles: National Grid sets the poles, and Verizon is responsible for the removal," said National Grid spokesperson Christine Milligan. "We use a system called NJUNS, which each utility and city or town monitors to see who is next up to remove their infrastructure from the pole. Once National Grid sets a pole and transfers our lines to the new pole, a ticket is generated in this shared system notifying other utilities of the work that needs to be done."

The problem on Central Street? There was a third utility provider—in this case, an AT&T subsidiary—that also had lines on the pole. Per industry safety standards, Verizon could not proceed with the removal until all other utilities’ wires were off the pole.

But the name of that provider wasn’t included in the original NJUNS work ticket, said a utility spokesperson, and AT&T was not notified until recently that their action was needed. So, the process was stuck in limbo.

AT&T confirmed that it took swift action once they were informed of the issue, stating that their technicians removed their wires at the end of March. Verizon removed the pole shortly thereafter.

South Shore Times made dozens of inquiries to Verizon, Comcast, AT&T, National Grid, and NJUNS since Norwell resident Suzanne Jevne—whose home the pole was in front of—raised the issue at a February 5 Norwell Select Board meeting.

As of last year, Massachusetts had approximately 18,917 double utility poles, up from 14,931 in 2019. Notably, nearly 16,749 of those poles had been in place longer than the state's statutory 90-day limit for removal.

Languishing double poles, like the one in Norwell, are illegal under Massachusetts General Law. However, the law has no enforcement mechanism. Proposals to change that—giving cities and towns the ability to fine pole owners—have languished in the state legislature for more than a decade.

Double utility poles, often resulting from system upgrades, construction projects, or safety concerns, occur when a new pole is installed alongside an existing one to facilitate the transfer of wires and equipment. The process of removing the old pole requires coordination among multiple utility and telecommunications companies, which can lead to delays.

And, like the example in Norwell, sometimes the root cause of those lengthy delays is something as simple as one missing data point.