MANCHESTER —— It will take years before any results are seen, but the first step toward fixing one of the city’s most aggravating traffic problems will be taken this week.

The state Department of Transportation will hold a public meeting at Manchester Community College at 7 p.m. Wednesday on reconstruction of Exits 6 and 7 off Interstate 293.

Motorists often complain about the difficulties encountered on the Amoskeag Circle rotary when entering or leaving the highway.

“We’re basically kicking off a corridor analysis study of the F.E. Everett Turnpike from just north of Exit 5, Granite Street to about a mile north of the Exit 7 interchange,” said state traffic engineer Keith Cota.

The state has hired a consulting engineering firm to guide the three-phase process that could lead to widening the highway and construction of new interchanges.

“First we’re working on understanding the problems, not coming up with the solutions yet,” said Marty Kennedy, a public engineer with the Bedford office of Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, the firm hired to help with the study. “We really want people to come to the meeting to identify the issues and problems and once that’s done, we’ll be looking at developing options and alternatives.”

The state and the consultants will present some basic information at the meeting about traffic volume and accidents. They will also discuss factors that could limit solutions, such as the location of I-293 along the Merrimack River, and the location of protected historic structures near the interchanges.

“It’s certainly going to be a challenge,” Kennedy said. “The idea is to come up with a solution that addresses the problem and minimizes any kind of impact to properties or environmental resources.”

No solutions are being ruled out, including trying to get drivers to access the road differently.

“One idea for Exit 7 is moving it a bit to the north and making it a full interchange and having a connection to some local streets to the west,” Cota said. “We want to see if that would draw traffic from Exit 6 to the new interchange.”

The ultimate plan will be designed to handle predicted traffic needs along the highway for the next 20 years.

The DOT will be guided in its work by a committee of local and community leaders from Goffstown, Hooksett and Manchester.

“This is really about getting the public involved in this process,” Kennedy said.

Finding a way to fix the problems on the highway will take years. The first phase of the study is figuring out the extent of traffic problems. It will be followed by work to examine potential solutions and then to evaluate the impact of each of them. Ultimately a design will be selected.

Then, if the state has the money, construction would begin.

“It is five to seven years out before we would see any construction,” Cota said.

The meeting is at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the auditorium at Manchester Community College, 1066 Front Street.

wsmith@unionleader.com