Route 62 Highway Ramps Expected Open This Week

If all goes according to plan, drivers will notice a long-awaited change at the Route 62 interchange on Elliott Street in Danvers on Wednesday.

"We are projecting making the changeover from the existing configuration to the new configuration Wednesday morning," Michael Verseckes, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Department of Transportation told the Salem News last week.  

According to Mass DOT, the $23 million project is in its final stages, with the roadway reconstruction of a section of Route 128, including the replacement of the steel bridge, at about 78 percent completion. 

The project, which began in Jan. 2010, constructed new acceleration/deceleration lanes at the Route 35 and Route 62 interchanges, as well as replacing the bridge carrying Route 128 over an unused MBTA rail road located south of the High Street interchange. 

The project is finishing a year ahead of schedule due to accelerated work, the Salem News said. The project's contractor, D.W. White Construction created temporary ramps which allowed traffic to flow around the bridge while it being replaced.