State Officials Meet With Legion Members over Proposed Rotary Changes

Thursday, June 4, 2015

...... A quartet of Legion members from Simeon L. Nickerson Post 64 met with three representatives of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation Highway Division on Thursday, June 4, 2015 to review and discuss proposed changes of the Middleboro Rotary. The meeting was held in Post headquarters.

.....The rotary was dedicated as the Middleborough American Legion Memorial Circle by an Act of the Massachusetts Legislature and signed into law by then Governor John A. Volpe on April 9, 1962.

......James J. Cerbone, project manager of Mass DOT –environmental services led the discussion for the state. Attending the meeting with him were John J. Hayden, senior principal engineer, and Hillary B. King, planner, both of Fay, Spofford & Thorndike engineers of Burlington, MA.

......Representing Post 64 were Past Commanders Walter Campbell, Jr., and Paul Provencher and William Franks, post armorer and Bob Lessard, post historian. Campbell and Franks have been involved with maintaining the flag pole area of the rotary for years.

.....Mr. Cerbone presented potential rotary changes through schematic drawings for review. The proposed plans for the rotary includes two “flyover” bridges to alleviate current traffic congestion problems. Should the project be funded it will start in 2020, according to Mr. Cerbone.

.....One possible major change in the rotary project would encompass moving the flag pole and its infrastructure to another location. Four proposed locations for the flagpole, which flies deceased veteran’s casket flags and is lighted at night, were discussed.

.....All four Legion members opted to keep the flag pole within the perimeter of the rotary but moved closer to the roadway. Both Walter Campbell, Jr., and William Franks suggested that a heavy plenty of shrubs surround the flag pole if it were moved. In the past they said, several accidents around the rotary caused vehicles to nearly crash into the flag pole, but planted shrubs stopped them.

.....Keeping the flag lighted at night, as it is now, was a major concern for the group. Engineer Hayden remarked that he didn’t think that would be a problem.

.....A request by the Legion quartet to have a small park with a dedicated American Legion Memorial granite monument and park benches was taken under advisement by the state folks. Mr. Cerbone told the members that the nearby closed Ma’s gas station property is owned by the state. It was hoped by the group that the requested park could be established on that site, which is directly across from the rotary.

.....It was agreed by those attending that meetings should be held in the future to keep all informed ......(Posted by Bob Lessard post historian.)