Crews will close lanes on Interstate 495 each night for approximately two weeks starting Monday, Sept. 28, as they lift steel beams into place for a replacement bridge along the highway.
The nightly closures will run between Exit 105 (Route 213 in Methuen) and Exit 106 (the Ward Hill Connector), WHAV first reported. Closures will occur from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. as needed.
The work is part of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation's (MassDOT) I-495 Andover-Lawrence Bridge Replacements Project, a roughly four-year effort launched in spring 2024 to replace six aging bridges along the interstate.
Four carry I-495 over Route 28, and two carry it over the MBTA Haverhill commuter rail line. All six date to 1962, when I-495 was first built through the Merrimack Valley, according to the MassDOT project page.
Long steel beams have already appeared in the median between the northbound and southbound lanes, WHAV reported. Current activities include substructure construction on the Ward Hill Connector, also known as Industrial Avenue, over I-495, and structural steel erection at the Stage 1 bridge.
The speed limit drops to 55 mph through the work zone.
The project entered Stage 2 on June 16, when northbound traffic toward Haverhill was shifted into the median between Corbett Street in Andover and Route 114 in Lawrence, according to an Andover Department of Public Works advisory. The town's latest weekly advisory states no major daytime detours are in place, though motorists should expect occasional overnight ramp closures beyond the lane restrictions.
MassDOT has committed to avoiding closures during peak commuting hours, according to the town's project page. The nightly closures are scheduled "as needed," meaning not every night within the two-week window will necessarily see a shutdown.
Residents can sign up for weekly construction updates by emailing [email protected], calling the project hotline at 978-981-8770 (available in English, Spanish and Vietnamese) or visiting mass.gov/i-495-andover-lawrence-bridge-replacements.
