Roosevelt Circle, I-93 Lanes Reopening Thursday

MELROSE, MA — All southbound lanes of I-93 South underneath Roosevelt Circle will be open at some point Thursday, state transportation officials said.

Only two lanes of travel have been in use since an overweight truck crashed into the Roosevelt Circle overpass Monday afternoon. The northbound lanes have all remained open.

Workers are now working in a "deliberate" manner to make temporary repairs to the overpass structure, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation said. They found additional damage while working overnight Tuesday.

The eastbound rotary bridge will also be reopened when temporary repairs are made, and Roosevelt Circle will be restored to two travel lanes with some restrictions until the permanent repairs are made.

The permanent repairs are expected to take several months, possibly into the spring.

"Stabilization work of the overpass, which began on Monday, is still ongoing and we continue to take a deliberate and systematic approach to ensure that the structure is safe," Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver said in a release. "Crews working overnight identified additional damage that risked destabilizing the structure further and we have modified our approach accordingly. Commuters should expect and plan ahead for continued traffic impacts on I-93 southbound on Thursday."

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