Highway robbery? The drugmaker is bargaining hard in Andover, Massachusetts, where it has a facility, but has traffic woes. So Wyeth promises to create 100 new jobs if the state helps build a ramp off Interstate 93. And Wyeth swears all of the jobs will be kept five years if the state coughs up $15 million in grants to pay for the interchange and road improvements.

“Our business cannot wait for this ramp,” Chris Perley, Wyeth’s managing director, tells The Eagle Tribune. “An interchange would make the commute better for our employees, and lessen the traffic in surrounding neighborhoods.”

Perley, however, isn’t saying what kind of jobs will be created. And it’s not clear why Andover settled for 100, when Wyeth is continually hiring. Unlike most cases of corporate welfare, in which a company hasn’t yet built a facility or threatens to leave, Wyeth appears committed to staying in Andover. Or…maybe they did issue a threat.

In years past, Wyeth and other companies faced legal challenges by nearby residents when trying to expand their facilities. Neighbors complained that the expansions would clog their small neighborhoods with too much traffic. Another interchange has been discussed for decades. Right now, the federal government will pay for 80 percent of the project and the grant would pay for the rest. The entire project should cost $56 million.

Andover’s Town Manager “Buzz” Stapczynski says the benefits of adding the exits will be great. “The 100 jobs at Wyeth will be small compared to all the jobs we can bring in once the interchange is in place.” There is 500 acres of undeveloped land in the area that can be developed.