A $466 million project to reconstruct the interchange between two major interstate highways in Hopkinton and Westborough took a major step forward on Wednesday, earning the support of a Department of Transportation subcommittee.

MassDOT’s capital programs committee approved a contract with Barletta, O&G and Aetna to update highway lanes, ramps, exits and shoulders where Interstate 495 and Interstate 90 meet.

The work will carry major impacts on an interchange that project manager Michael O’Dowd said carries more than 175,000 vehicles per day between two of the state’s most significant roadways.

“It’s a high priority for both MassDOT and our federal highway partners,” O’Dowd said. “It really addresses some long-term congestion issues as well as safety issues at the particular interchange.”

Developers will reconstruct all three lanes of travel in both directions for I-90 and I-495 with shoulders between six feet and 10 feet wide. A new auxiliary lane will give drivers more space for acceleration and deceleration, addressing what O’Dowd called a primary safety concern.

Crews will also reshape the exit ramps, adding eight new connections with remapped configurations.

“Anything you’ve become accustomed to going through, in the course of the next five years, will change significantly,” O’Dowd said of the ramps. “It may take a little bit more of a timeframe to get reacclimated.”

Other project features include widening Fruit Street and Flanders Road to allow for proposed bicycle and pedestrian facilities, drainage improvements, and updated signage.

The contract would pay Barletta, O&G and Aetna slightly more than $394 million. The remainder of the project’s $466.8 million budget would cover contingency costs as well as traffic police and construction engineering, according to O’Dowd’s presentation.

Following the committee’s approval, MassDOT’s full board will be asked to give its support for the deal in the coming weeks.