In the coming weeks, the political banners, personal messages, birthday wishes, business advertisements and other sentiments that have been fastened to highway overpasses will vanish.

And the work of James Sereigo-Wareing of Methuen, a highway banner guru known for his tributes to men and women who have served in the military, must go, too, says the state Highway Department.

When Marine Lance Cpl. Andrew Zabierek of Chelmsford died, it was Wareing who constructed the memorial tribute where Route 4 passes over Interstate 495. (State legislators have since acted to name the bridge for Zabierek, who died May 21, 2004, in hostile action in Al Anbar Province in Iraq.)

Similarly, on Route 213 in Methuen, Wareing constructed a tribute to the Lawrence soldier, Alex Jimenez, and Pfc. Byron Fouty, after they were kidnapped in Iraq last May. (They remain unaccounted for.)

Wareing says he disagrees with the ruling, but the tributes will come down this week, collateral damage of the state's new stand.

"I will abide with their decision," said Wareing, who has invested thousands of dollars in the tributes. "I just hate controversy. And I said if this becomes controversial, I won't do it anymore."

Since constructing more than a dozen tributes in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Wareing has found innovative and secure ways to fasten his tributes of flags, military banners and yellow ribbons to the inside of overpasses, he says.

He also runs another, unrelated organization called New England Caring for Our Military, which sends care packages and telephone cards to troops.

In a written response following a meeting with MassHighway Commissioner Luisa Paiewonsky last week, Wareing said the risks posed by signs "are greatly overexaggerated compared to other safety issues that MassHighway faces."

He said he has seen "dangerous conditions on overpasses," including rocks and debris "on the edges of sidewalks waiting for a gust of wind to take them crashing below onto a car. Some sidewalks on bridges have 6-to-9-inch gaps where a foot can get stuck or debris could fall through to the road below.

"When weighing this (against) the issue presented at the meeting about the overpass displays, I would think the emphasis should be on clearing and repairing bridges, not banning displays," Wareing said.

Citing public safety, Paiewonsky said all messages must come down, regardless of their nature.

"What happens to one happens to all," she said yesterday.

In a meeting with Wareing a week ago, she suggested to him alternatives to overpass tributes, including generic signs that read, "Welcome Home Troops. Thank you for your service," with an American flag and seals from various military branches. They could, she explained, be placed at rest areas, "park and ride" areas and in front of MassHighway district offices.

Paiewonsky said she "can't imagine" the pain of a family that has lost a loved one in active duty.

"But I have to be responsible for public safety," she added.

Currently, "It is only a matter of time until something drops onto the windshield of a car going between 60 and 70 miles per hour," Paiewonsky said.

She said MassHighway work crews have found some sign debris by the side of the road.

She said she "reached out" to Wareing a week ago "because he's done a lot of military-oriented flags and displays" on highways overpasses. Paiewonsky said she explained the state's new position, offering proposals for alternative, nonspecific tributes.

"I know the importance of this, since I have a lot of people on the MassHighway staff who are military veterans," she said. "And they make sure I'm sensitive to the issue.

"I want to honor that sentiment, safely," she added. "We can't avert our eyes when we see something hazardous, even when it's being done with the best intentions."

After a public outcry on a similar ban 14 months ago, MassHighway said only tributes fastened to the inside of bridges could remain.

MassHighway crews removed Wareing's tributes in Malden. Later, a spokesman said a "miscommunication" was to blame, but the department was working to establish a policy, which was laid out to Wareing last week.

"Since then, many more have been hung up, and they flap in the wind, and parts of them have been found by the side of the road," Paiewonsky said.

She said she expects some angry public feedback, "but I can live with that a lot more easily than facing my conscience if someone gets hurt or worse from something falling."

Wareing said he will personally take down his monuments.

David Perry-Lowell Sun

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