Congresswoman Niki Tsongas, Rep. Linda Dean Campbell and Methuen Mayor James P. Jajuga marked the completion of the city’s rotary project at a ribbon-cutting event on Sept. 10. (Courtesy photograph)
Congresswoman Niki Tsongas was among several local leaders who celebrated the “on time, under budget” completion of Methuen’s I-93 rotary reconstruction project at a ribbon-cutting ceremony this week.
The project, for which Tsongas began securing funding for in 2009, included the reconstruction of four I-93 on- and off-ramps and the realignment of Routes 110 and 113. In the process, new traffic signals, sidewalks and noise barriers were put into place.
“The Methuen Rotary and I-93 interchange project has been a long time coming and it is exciting to see it come to fruition,” Tsongas said. “Today’s celebration of the project’s finish is a testament to strong, longstanding public/private partnerships and the local, state and federal agencies who came together to find an efficient solution to a complex problem.”
Rep. Linda Dean Campbell praised the Massachusetts Department of Transportation for taking resident concerns about noise and pollution, for example, under advisement. Calling the reconstruction efforts “exceptional,” Campbell’s Beacon Hill colleague Rep. Diana DiZoglio said she expects the work to lead to safer roads and a boost in the local economy as businesses begin to relocate to the area.
The full scope of the $66.4 million project was completed earlier this year.