Two of three southbound lanes of Interstate 495 in Haverhill were abruptly closed Monday afternoon, snarling traffic during the evening commute.
The left and center lanes along at the Merrimack River crossing between River Street, exit 49, and the Ward Hill Connector, were closed for bridge deck repairs. Massachusetts Department of Transportation officials made the announcement just after 3:30 p.m. and repairs were completed in a little more than two hours.
Well, I sat stopped traffic that had me barely traveling a mile in over an hour. Three hours later the lanes were still closed and gridlock ensued around Happy Haverhill. They have been fixing that bridge for years and still haven’t gotten it right. So much for our tax dollars at work.
Nikki Tsongas only goes over those bridges coming to and from photo opps….so there’s really no need to rush to fix them.