MassHighway bans flag, banner overpass displays By Jason Tait Eagle-Tribune  METHUEN -

MassHighway is banning all patriotic displays on freeway overpasses, calling the decorative flags and banners dangerous for the drivers below. Using overpasses to attach flags and "welcome home" banners for soldiers has been popular since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and during the ensuing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. But state highway officials are concerned that the trend, which was growing statewide, could cause a major accident if the decorations fall on the traffic below. Crews have already stripped bridges of flags and banners on interstates 93 and 495, starting about two weeks ago after noticing an uptick in the overpass displays. "The overall goal here is to keep the highways as safe as possible for all the drivers," said MassHighway spokesman Erik Abell. "We don't want a situation where something could be falling off an overpass." The new policy has angered some residents, including Linda Vitale of Methuen. Her son, 24-year-old Marine Sgt. Brian Vitale, is returning from Iraq at the end of the month and recently asked his mother if a banner will be hanging for him. The banner would have gone on the Howe Street Bridge over Route 213 in Methuen, a span covered in American flags. "Every time I go over that (Howe Street) bridge, I get a chill because I know someone gives a damn about him," Vitale said of her son. "I don't think that's fair. I don't think that's fair to my son." Many of the banners are messages to soldiers who are leaving or coming home from war, or killed in action. James Wareing of Methuen is among the first people in the state to decorate overpasses, earning himself the "Flagman" moniker among locals for his colorful display on the Howe Street bridge. He was removing flags from the Howe Street bridge yesterday after MassHighway told him of the new policy. Wareing also must remove his decorations on the Forest Street bridge in Methuen and in Chelmsford over Interstate 495, a span that is dedicated to Marine Lance Cpl. Andrew Zabierek, who was killed in Iraq two years ago. "All good things come to an end," Wareing said yesterday while removing flags over Route 213. Wareing has noticed an increase in overpass decorations that have included political messages and birthday wishes. "It's almost like a snowball that rolls down the hill and gets bigger and bigger," Wareing said. "It can definitely get carried away." Not everyone is so understanding. Michael Ingham, Haverhill's Veterans Services director, came back from the Persian Gulf last year and said the overpass displays meant a lot to him. He is a chief master sergeant in the Air Force and is disappointed with the new MassHighway policy. "To see something like that is just important," he said of the welcome home banners. "It means a lot." Linda Noone of Reading said she is "heartbroken." She decorated the Route 129 bridge over Interstate 93 with American and military flags hoisted onto 20-foot poles. Her daughter, Michelle Carter, is a Marine who served in Iraq and appreciated the overpass displays. Carter leaves for Iraq again in March. "I felt that they needed to see something when they came home," Noone said of soldiers returning, "and they need something to see when they are leaving." Abell said the ban on overpass banners is only related to safety. Their top fear is that a gust of wind will cause a banner to fall on a windshield and cause a crash. "It does not have anything to do with the messages on the signs or the flags," Abell said. Abell said the banner ban includes messages spelled out in cups that are stuffed in chain-link fences on overpasses.

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