Better weather may be cure for sickly highway greenery

Six months after the widening of Route 3 began, enabling commuters to make it through Massachusetts suburbs into southern New Hampshire more quickly, dead trees line the side of the highway.

Shortly after the road opened (at a cost of $385 million to taxpayers) thousands of trees and shrubs were planted along the embankments to hold the soil in place and beautify the roadway. Now, says GlobeWatch tipster Cynthia Fosse, at least half the trees appear to be dead or dying.

''I travel up and down there all the time, and they look awful," she said. ''They look like dead sticks along the highway."

Modern Continental responds
First, the numbers. Modern Continental paid $1.6 million to plant 5,000 trees and shrubs up and down and around the 21-mile stretch of road from Route 128 to the state line. The bulk of the trees planted were white pines and maples, said Modern Continental spokesman Jeffrey Francis. ''Only a small percentage of them have died," Francis said. How many? ''A few hundred."

So why does the corridor look so bleak and the trees so spindly? Fernando Souza, the president of MON Landscaping in North Dartmouth, which has the contract for the planting, said not to jump to conclusions.

''People have no idea what's alive or dead," he said.

The bulk of the trees Fosse is complaining about were planted last fall. Young trees like that take longer to bud than mature trees. Add to that delay the dour, sunless spring we've had, and budding has been even further delayed this year.

''If the weather turns by, say, Monday, in two, two-and-a-half weeks, you should start seeing the trees bud," Souza said.

And as far as the trees that are dead, they are all under warranty, Francis said, and will be replaced.

DOUGLAS BELKIN

WHO'S RESPONSIBLE?

John Greeley

Community Relations Manager for Modern Continental

Tel.: 978-589-1658

E-mail: jgreeley@moderncontinental.com