1 Of Melrose's Gateways On And Off I-93 Needs Months Of Repairs

MELROSE, MA — I-93 traffic might resume within a day or two, but the flow above it on Roosevelt Circle will take months to get back to normal. Now one of Melrose's primary ways to and from the interstate is hampered until 2022.

Massachusetts transportation officials said Tuesday afternoon that all highway lanes could be reopened by Wednesday night after a too-tall truck drover into the overpass Monday.

But a Department of Transportation spokesperson said Roosevelt Circle "full lane travel over the bridge not possible until after permanent repairs," which will take months. WBZ reported it could be 6-8 months, could be as late next spring.

It's unclear exactly what kind of traffic issues the work will cause. DOT officials said to expect delays on Route 1 South, Route 16 and Route 28 in addition to the circle.

On Wednesday the southern loop of the circle was completely shut off while contractors were at work.

Even if that remains to be the case, it's likely motorists can still drive right from the Fellsway around the northern part of the circle and onto I-93 South, while northbound drivers can exit off the highway onto the fellsway. But as of Wednesday, there was no complete circles — you could not go farther than the I-93 South on-ramp.

Motorists can, of course, drive up into Stoneham to get on I-93.

Mike Carraggi can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @PatchCarraggi. Subscribe to Melrose Patch for free local news and alerts and like us on Facebook