JAY — State transportation representatives, local residents and officials reached an agreement Tuesday on the town’s war monument in Chisholm Square.

The Maine Department of Transportation is in the process of having 1.1 miles of Route 4 in Jay and Livermore Falls reconstructed. The project includes widening the road and putting in new sidewalks.

In order for a sidewalk to be put in front and to the side of the Jay War Monument on Church Street and meet the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, some rounding at the corner of Church and Route 4 needs to be done. A ramp from the crosswalk to the sidewalk will be installed so that it is handicap accessible.

The monument itself won’t be affected, state inspector Jerry Wiley said.

It is the end piece of wrought iron fence that parallels Church Street to the sidewalk on Route 4 that will need to be shifted and some bushes removed and replanted.

Wiley, DOT resident engineer Gary Trussell and DOT landscaper Kent Cooper worked with residents and representatives of the town and state to come up with a design that satisfied each party.

Ninety-three-year-old Hyla Friedman threatened to picket the state project and call the president of the United States if she had to, she said, to keep the monument intact.

In the end, the state was very willing to work with the group and hadn’t planned any major changes.

“The state owns the land,” Trussell said.

Jay Board of Selectmen Chairman Steve McCourt said, after looking at the project map and consulting with the DOT, that all the work being done is within the state right of way.

Trussell said the St. Rose Catholic Church owns the property behind the monument, which includes a parking lot in front of the parish hall. The DOT has been working with the church, Trussell said.

Friedman said a priest gave the land to the town for the monument in 1947.

Cooper said the state will treat the monument area with utmost respect. The fence will be adjusted and put back, he said.

After reviewing the road construction plans, Trussell said they could put in a radius and round the area a little more so it is less sharp. That will make it appear symmetrical with the Jewell Street end, which will not be affected.

The state plans to have the end section of the fence temporarily removed, cut and then welded back together.

Jay resident Barbara Cook and Friedman both said the state couldn’t cut the fence.

The state has to have it done to be able to make it fit along with the sidewalk.

“Our intent is to make it look exactly like it does now, just moved a little bit,” Cooper said.

Friedman looked over the project plan.

She asked if the state was sure the monument and area would look the same. She also suggested that Howie’s Welding be contacted to work on the fence since it did most of the work on it. DOT representatives said they would.

Friedman spearheaded an effort to raise more than $50,000 beginning in 2004 to clean the existing monument and expand it to cover all branches of the military. It also included money for perpetual care.

“I honestly think when we are done, you will be happy with it,” Wiley said.

This work may not happen until next spring; it depends on the contractor, Wiley said.

Resident Anita McDonald asked if the monument would be finished for 2012 Memorial Day.

The intent would be to have it done by then, they said.

Wiley said the monument area near Church Street will be changed a little. The fence will be rebuilt and put on a new concrete wall as it is now. The sidewalk will have granite curbing and pavement. A granite wall will be installed to both sides of the front of the monument area where it is now dirt.

“The big thing is we will preserve everything,” Wiley said.

dperry@sunjournal.com

Copy the Story Link