I-93-Interchange Project Moving Sluggishly Forward

Nearly five years after the project started, the 93-interchange is still very much in its preliminary stages. No ground will be breaking, no mall will be built, and no serious swell in traffic will be seen for at least another year, according to the Wilmington Planning Board.

"There is a lot going on, but the environmental impact draft form has to be finished first and that won't be done for at least another year," said Carole Hamilton, Director of the .

Hamilton said she hopes to have a new task force meeting to update the public on what is happening in early December. She projected the construction will start in 2013, earliest, and won't be completed until 2017.

The 93-Interchange project includes both a new exit on the highway between exit 42 and 43 and at least five miles of additional travel lanes in both directions. Started in 2006, the project could generate as many as 10,000 new jobs with $400-$800 million in new payroll, according to U.S. House Rep. Niki Tsongas. Simon Properties, owners of Burlington Mall and two other malls in N.H., own property near where the proposed interchange would be built. 

A task force with members from Andover, Tewksbury and Wilmington was formed to help ensure the interests of all three towns was kept in mind during this development. State and federal highway agencies have also stepped in and are, in part, some of the reason why the project has lagged, according to Hamilton.

"We've had to sit there for hours and hours going over what the rest of us have known for years. It's probably the most discouraging part of the process, but it's moving forward and it's important we're all on the same page," she said.

The environmental impact draft is studying the effects of the interchange design on the Wilmington wetlands and other surrounding areas. Some of the previous designs would have impacted as many as 10 to 15 acres of the wetlands, the designs that are being considered today are only affecting a few acres, said Hamilton. Still, the developers will need a waiver from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, to continue with these designs. Four species of endangered animals (three species of moths and one of mussels) and some habitats, like fox habitats, could also be affected by the construction of the interchange.

In October, the that will keep cars away from the South Street neighborhood on the West side of the highway. 

The last task force meeting was in January of this year so an update would include a generous amount of information. The date for such a meeting has yet to be set.