METHUEN — The state intends to buy the former Loosigian Farms property to make up for wetlands that will be damaged during construction of the rotary in Methuen.
The state plans to eliminate the rotary and replace it with a partial cloverleaf, a project that state Sen. Steven Baddour, D-Methuen, has estimated will cost $110 million. The rotary is at the confluence of Interstate 93 and routes 110 and 113, and it's near the Merrimack River.
"This will be one of the biggest projects in the commonwealth," Baddour said at an event yesterday with people involved in the project.
Project documents say workers will damage two acres of wetlands during construction, so the state plans to replicate that land at the old farm at 18 Lowell Blvd., which is roughly two miles west of the rotary and along the river.
Plans also call for noise barriers along sections of the ramps leading to and from the highway.
Officials will hold a public meeting from 5 to 8 p.m. next Tuesday at the Methuen Senior Activity Center, 77 Lowell St., to update the public about the project.
In the meantime, U.S. Rep. Niki Tsongas yesterday presented a $900,000 check to state and local officials at a gathering at the Irish Cottage, a new restaurant next to the rotary. The federal money will help advance the project, according to Tsongas' office.
When all is said and done, the federal government will pick up 80 percent of the tab, and the state will fund the remaining 20 percent, officials have said.
Crews are scheduled to begin construction in late 2014, according to the project's Web site.
The rotary frustrates drivers because it causes traffic congestion — even backing up onto I-93 at peak times — and it's been the site of so many accidents that Methuen police gave it an address, 400 Lowell St.
"This is a safety imperative to get this rotary fixed," Luisa Paiewonsky, the administrator for the Highway Division of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, said at yesterday's meeting.
Online city assessing records list Loosigian Farms Inc. as the owner of the 13.25-acre Loosigian parcel. The property, which includes a building, was assessed at $436,450 in fiscal year 2009.
The property was for sale for $499,000 in October 2008, when city councilors wanted to buy it. The council had received notice that someone was buying the land for $150,000, and the city had the right of first refusal.
The owners of the land owed $100,000 in back taxes, and if a new owner bought the site, that debt would have to be paid.
The city could have forgiven the debt and bought the land for $50,000, officials previously said.
Mayor William Manzi declined in light of budget problems.
Department of Transportation spokesman Adam Hurtubise said the property will be purchased through MassDOT's standard right of way process, which will include three independent appraisals.
"The site was filled in the past and is surrounded by wetlands," Hurtubise said. "Fill will be removed and the site will be regraded to create a new wetland area to mitigate for wetland fill associated with the Methuen rotary project."
The federal Clean Water Act and state Wetlands Protection Act require alternatives to avoid and minimize wetland impacts where possible. Where it is not possible to avoid impacts, replacement is required, Hurtubise said.
