Massachusetts state police said the early morning protest shut down Interstate 93 northbound at East Milton Square, which is south of the city, and southbound in the Medford-Somerville area north of the city, according to MyFoxBoston.com. Seventeen protesters were arrested on I-93 south and six on I-93 north.

[NOW] #boston#BlackLivesMatter protesters, attached to 1200 lb barrels on I-93 N/B #QuincyMA to shut down highway http://ift.tt/1ynlZll

— STACO COMMUNICATIONS (@stacos) January 15, 2015

Police reported that power saws were needed to unlodge protesters who had chained themselves to barrels.

Protestors with arms chained together inside barrel on Rte 83 Milton http://ift.tt/1IBX9CH

— Tim Alben (@TimAlben) January 15, 2015

#BlackLivesMatter in Boston 4 #MLK day State police using a saw to open barrel @ Exit 9/Bryant Ave/S Rt: @julito77 http://ift.tt/1ua22KL

— Andrew J. Padilla (@apadillafilm6) January 15, 2015

Demonstrators with Black Lives Matter Boston said in a statement that the protest was an “economic disruption,” one protester told the Boston Globe, "to confront white complacency in the systemic oppression of black people in Boston,” the group added in a statement on its Facebook page.

"Today, our nonviolent direct action is meant to expose the reality that Boston is a city where white commuters and students use the city and leave, while black and brown communities are targeted by police, exploited, and displaced," protester Katie Seitz said in a statement.

3 out of 6 blockaders from 1 of 2 #BlackLivesMatter highway blockades that took place in Boston this morning. http://ift.tt/1ua21Xa

— Farhad (@Yahktoe) January 15, 2015

The statement goes on to list a number of people who were killed by Boston police in the last 15 years.

“We must remember, Ferguson is not a faraway Southern city. Black men, women, and gender-nonconforming people face disproportionately higher risk of profiling, unjust incarceration, and death. Police violence is everywhere in the United States,” said protester Nguyen Thi Minh Thu.

#BlackLivesMatter I-93 Boston protests http://t.co/Vv0JafquSt http://ift.tt/1E3cdqp via @Nikluk

— Ferguson Liveuamap (@fergusonlum) January 15, 2015

Most of the blocked lanes of traffic were reopened just after 8 a.m., according to state police.

Neolib #Boston commuters: 'Yeah, #blacklivesmatter, but not as much as me getting to real estate or finance job where I push status quo.'

— Chris Faraone (@Fara1) January 15, 2015

So should any losses due to the Boston #BlackLivesMatter protest be turned into George Soros for reimbursement?

— IrritatedWoman™ (@irritatedwoman) January 15, 2015