SHARON, Mass. — Trees along a section of I-95 southbound in Sharon are “unhealthy and unsightly,” according to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.
If you have ever driven by the area, you’ve probably seen the damage: about two dozen trees – lopped off at the top – right near an electronic billboard.
I’ve never seen this before, have you?
— Peter Wilson (@PetesWire) March 25, 2018
The tops of trees lopped off so a billboard is more visible to drivers.
This is I-95 South in #Sharon.
Is this @MassDOT land or would it be owned by billboard company @LamarOOH ?
Who signs off on work like this?
It looks awful. pic.twitter.com/e9JJJ2gzzg
It’s been that way for almost three years and, after Boston 25 News reached out to MassDOT to ask some questions about it, we’ve learned the agency is re-evaluating the damage that was done.
MassDOT confirms it owns the land and that a permit was issued in May of 2015 “to improve the visibility, and line of sight, of a billboard located between Route 1 & I-95.”
That permit called for “minor pruning and shaping,” but a statement from MassDOT says “The contractor that did the tree cutting went beyond the scope of work for the permit and MassDOT sent a violation notice to the permitee.”
That permitee in 2015 was Carroll Advertising of Boston.
The statement goes on to say, “MassDOT required that the contractor clear debris and underbrush to promote new growth. In cases like this, even where the cut is excessive, the cut trees are left in place to offer some screening against the background (in this case storage buildings), until regrowth occurs."
The violation issued to Carroll Advertising in May of 2015 shows trees “were removed and/or topped leaving the trees unhealthy, unsightly and downed limbs and debris were left within the site.”
Carroll Advertising has since sold the billboard to Lamar Advertising.
The president of Carroll Advertising, John Carroll, told Boston 25 News the trees were cut more aggressively than they should have been.
“I don’t think it looks great either. It’s not growing in as fast as anyone would like,” says Carroll.
MassDOT’s Judith Riley says the future of the site is unclear.
“It is difficult to assess regrowth at this time of year," she said. "MassDOT surveyed the area this week, and will conduct another site visit in the near future to further evaluate regrowth at this location. MassDOT fully intends to pursue all remedies available to it relating to this violation.”
Boston 25 News has asked MassDOT to let us know where that leads.
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