Business

I-93 interchange project gets new life New exit would allow for business expansion

By Bill Kirk
bkirk@eagletribune.com
Published: August 24, 2008

ANDOVER — The proposed Interstate 93 interchange appears to be on the fast-track, as state and local officials are making progress on the $80 million to $150 million project that would expand development opportunities in Ballardvale, Tewksbury and Wilmington.

"We've been directed to get this done," said John Fallon, manager for major projects in the Environmental Services division of Mass Highway. "We're working on all eight cylinders to do that."

The new interchange would be located between Exits 41 and 42 in Andover. Fallon said the federal government has set aside $10 million for the design of the project, it has the support of the state Office of Housing and Economic Development, it is being backed by all three towns affected, and has the support of businesses along the I-93 corridor.

It was also recently given a green light from the governor's office with the approval of $12.6 million for road improvements as part of Gov. Deval Patrick's Life Sciences bill.

Andover Planning Director Paul Materazzo applauded the efforts of Mass Highway.

"It's very encouraging from my perspective," he said. "They come to the meetings and they've been instructed by the communities to help deliver an interchange."

Once built, the project will open up about 1,000 acres of mostly vacant land between Exits 41 and 42 to development. Businesses already located there, including Wyeth, Biotech, Procter & Gamble/Gillette, Charles River Labs, Agfa and Thermo Fisher, will be able to expand and add jobs.

Wyeth's recent expansion efforts have been thwarted by Andover residents living in the Ballardvale neighborhood because of their concerns about increased traffic that would result from business expansion. The interchange would eliminate that concern by carrying traffic from I-93 directly to those businesses, so employees would no longer have to drive through the neighborhood to get to work.

The new interchange could create as many as 11,000 new jobs, according to the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission, adding to the roughly 6,000 jobs that already exist there. The project would bring in an estimated $30 million to $60 million in state tax revenue, as well as up to $7 million in local property taxes.

Bob Halpin, executive director of the Merrimack Valley Economic Development Council, said the outlook for the project is as bright as it's been since it was first proposed 30 years ago.

"Mass. Highway's attitude has changed very positively," he said, noting that the agency is working hard to speed up the environmental review of the project. "They have a very aggressive timetable to get it done."

But that doesn't mean the interchange is going to happen overnight.

Fallon said the environmental review alone won't be done until 2012. Simultaneously, about a third of the design of the interchange will be completed within that time frame. The remaining design and construction could be finished by 2014, he said.

Halpin said state wildlife officials have already started working on certain aspects of the environmental review, which will be incorporated into the final report to be submitted to federal regulators.