Lanes will close from time to time from next Monday through mid-June along Route 97 for repaving between the Broadway Industrial Park and the Methuen line.
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation confirmed the lane closings Wednesday. It said work will take place Monday, May 20, through Monday, June 17, between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, from the Haverhill/Methuen border and Silver Birch Lane, and between Research Drive and the easterly side of the Interstate 495 interchange. Haverhill city councilors last week received a heads-up from Public Works Director Robert E. Ward. He explained he and City Engineer John H. Pettis III lobbied for installation of sidewalks.
“They said, ‘absolutely not. This is money only for paving the street.’ We kind of knew that, but we figured we’d ask him again, put him on the spot, so we did.”
The work consists of maintenance pavement resurfacing, including utility structure adjustments and pavement marking improvements. It is taking place under a Municipal Pavement Improvement Program via an agreement between the city and state.