Cell tower expected to flower in spring at former landfill

Commuters often strike out when trying to check Google Maps near the traffic-clogged intersection of Route 2 and Walden Street. 

That’s finally set to change with a new cell tower at the former Acton landfill. 

Town boards approved plans this month. Barring an appeal from a project opponent, Town Manager Kerry Lafleur said, New York-based Wireless Edge plans to start work this fall and power up antennas in spring 2027. 

She announced the timeline during a September 14 Select Board meeting. A spring start “would be great,” she told The Acton Bridge. 

The landfill tower will stand 150 feet tall and boost coverage across multiple carriers. Although it won’t do much for Acton Center, it will help parts of the Acton-Carlisle High School campus. 

Cell coverage has remained a hot-button issue in recent years. 

Project supporters say dead zones are a safety and quality-of-life concern. Others worry about the possible health — and aesthetic — effects of new towers. 

The landfill tower schedule has slipped since Wireless Edge President and CEO John Arthur sketched plans last spring. He said the company had hoped to file its applications to the town in summer 2025. They didn’t come until July of this year.

Lafleur said municipal boards acted in a “very, very reasonable” amount of time once Wireless Edge applied.

The Planning Board and the Zoning Board of Appeals gave the green light. The Historical Commission found the planned landfill tower doesn’t appear to risk creating “a significant visual intrusion” at nearby Walden Pond.

Crews could start construction in summer 2027 on a separate cell project at the town-owned Umbrella Arts Center.

As with the landfill, that timeline is subject to change, and Lafleur said it’s currently out of the town’s control. 

“It’s in the hands of the applicant, and they have to go through their process and get their paperwork together,” she told The Bridge.