Third lane to open on Route 3

REGION – Northbound drivers on Route 3 in Massachusetts will have three lanes available all the way from Route 128 (Interstate 95) to the New Hampshire border, starting some time today.

The new third lane of the highway will be opened today on a 14-mile stretch of the northbound side from Route 128 to just north of Exit 32 in Chelmsford, Mass., according to Matt Watkins, spokesman for Modern Continental, the construction firm for the road-widening project.

The third northbound lane from the New Hampshire line to the area north of Exit 32 opened just prior to Labor Day.

The southbound side of the highway has three lanes open for about 13 miles. An eight-mile stretch between Interstate 495 and Route 62 is the last section that still has only two travel lanes open.

The work was supposed to be completed in February, and Modern Continental is being fined $10,000 a day by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for each day the project is unfinished.