Editing Interstate 93 (section)

===Northern Expressway===
{{Attached KML|from=Northern Expressway (Massachusetts)}}
The Northern Expressway was constructed from [[Medford, Massachusetts|Medford]] to the New Hampshire border between 1956 and 1963. It was extended through [[Somerville, Massachusetts|Somerville]] and [[Charlestown, Boston|Charlestown]] to the [[Central Artery]], [[U.S. Route 1|US&nbsp;1]], and the planned route of the [[Inner Belt Expressway]] (proposed I-695) between 1965 and 1973. Because it was already under construction, the highway was granted an exception to the moratorium on highway expansion inside [[Massachusetts Route 128|Route&nbsp;128]] that was announced in 1970.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.bostonroads.com/roads/northern/ |title = Northern Expressway (I-93) |access-date = October 4, 2014 }}{{self-published inline|certain=yes|date=May 2022}}</ref>

I-93 was originally planned with a southern terminus in Cambridge (just north of Boston), where it was to meet the Inner Belt (I-695). However, when that route was canceled and the I-95 section into Boston was canceled and rerouted onto [[Massachusetts Route 128|Route&nbsp;128]] in the mid-1970s, I-93 was extended an additional {{convert|18|mi|km}} southward down the Central Artery (which had been signed as a concurrency of I-95 and Route&nbsp;3 before I-95 was rerouted) and the [[Southeast Expressway (Massachusetts)|Southeast Expressway]] (what was then just Route&nbsp;3) from Boston to [[Braintree, Massachusetts|Braintree]] and then west along Route 128 (which was later removed from this section of road in 1997) to terminate at I-95 in Canton.

In an attempt to alleviate rush-hour traffic jams, travel in the [[breakdown lane]] of I-93 is permitted between exit&nbsp;35 (formerly 41) and exit&nbsp;46 (formerly 43), where the highway currently has three lanes in each direction. This extra travel is permitted on the southbound side on weekdays between 6:00&nbsp;am and 10:00&nbsp;am and on the northbound side between 3:00&nbsp;pm and 7:00&nbsp;pm to align with commuting hours. However, on most busy days, this fails to prevent traffic delays. The [[Massachusetts State Police]] has expressed displeasure with this arrangement, citing that traffic in the breakdown lanes interferes with the ability of emergency vehicles to respond to accidents.{{citation needed|date=February 2020}}

====Rapid bridge replacement project====
In August 2010, in [[Medford, Massachusetts|Medford]], a {{convert|25|x|7|ft|adj=on|m}} section of bridge deck on the northbound side partially collapsed due to age-related structural fatigue.<ref name="globe-moskowitz2">{{cite news |last = Moskowitz |first = Eric |title = Officials expect I-93 north lanes in Medford to be open for a.m. commute |url = http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2010/08/pothole_forces.html |access-date = August 5, 2010 |newspaper = Boston Globe |date = August 4, 2010 }}</ref> The collapse forced the [[Massachusetts Department of Transportation]] (MassDOT) to evaluate the remaining bridges along the corridor, eventually deciding to replace several bridges along the highway in a plan called 93 Fast 14. MassDOT set in motion a plan to replace the superstructure and concrete decks on 14 overpass bridges along that section of the Interstate, using [[rapid bridge replacement]] methods. The $98.1-million (equivalent to ${{Formatprice|{{inflation|US-GDP|98100000|2010}}}} in {{Inflation/year|index=US-GDP}}{{Inflation/fn|index=US-GDP}}) project replaced bridges originally built in 1957 with a set of prefabricated modular concrete bridges in a series of weekend roadway closures. Traffic was diverted into a series of crossover lanes during construction. The main part of the project took place each weekend from June through August 2011, with the exception of the [[Independence Day (United States)|July 4 holiday]] weekend. One or two bridges were replaced each weekend during the construction time frame. The project was part of the commonwealth's Accelerated Bridge Program.<ref>{{cite web |title = I-93 Medford Bridges: 93Fast14 Video |url = http://transportation.blog.state.ma.us/blog/2011/05/i-93-medford-bridges-93fast14-video.html |publisher = Massachusetts Department of Transportation |access-date = June 20, 2011 |date = May 5, 2011 |archive-date = June 18, 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110618042625/http://transportation.blog.state.ma.us/blog/2011/05/i-93-medford-bridges-93fast14-video.html |url-status = dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title = MassDot Accelerated Bridge Program: About the program |url = http://93fast14.dot.state.ma.us/about.html |publisher = [[Massachusetts Department of Transportation]] |access-date = June 20, 2011 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110608201046/http://93fast14.dot.state.ma.us/about.html |archive-date = June 8, 2011 }}</ref>

====Methuen Rotary====
Off exit&nbsp;43 (formerly 46) in [[Methuen, Massachusetts|Methuen]], the surface level [[traffic circle]] was rebuilt as part of an overall infrastructure improvement that also included constructing a new bridge carrying the Interstate over the local road, reconstructing on- and offramps to the highway, and realigning the Interstate itself.<ref>{{Cite news |last = Kashinsky |first = Leah |date = December 21, 2017 |title = MassDOT: 'Majority of construction' complete at former Methuen rotary |work = The Eagle-Tribune |location = North Andover, Massachusetts |url = https://www.eagletribune.com/news/massdot-majority-of-construction-complete-at-former-methuen-rotary/article_dd87aa66-e673-11e7-a1e4-13aaa2afdd2b.html }}</ref>