A dead tree amid scorched grass along Mass. Ave. westbound in East Arlington on July 23, 2016.
UPDATED, Dec. 15: Leave for a moment the hazy shade of December. Return to the rainless days of last summer.
Trees were dying along the Mass. Ave. project in East Arlington, said a town business owner who preferred not to be identified.
“Landscaping sub contractor planted them much too deep and without being dug up and reset they will all die,” the tipster wrote July 20. “Tree warden real hero in this, town never would have known until it was too late.”
Tim Lecuivre was appointed town tree warden last May, but has declined to take credit for uncovering the cause.
Mike Rademacher, public-works director, wrote Thursday, Dec. 8: “We had some concerns about the tree-planting depth, but not all the trees died, so I cannot confirm that is the reason they did die.”
Word on Street first reports
J.H. Lynch, the general contractor for the Mass. Ave. Corridor project, is replacing 29 of 119 trees, at Lynch’s expense. Word on the Street first reported the replacements and provided a photo Dec. 11.
Patrick Marvin, of MassDOT’s communications office, wrote Dec. 14: “Please note that 29 trees were replaced after the growing season. Personnel from the MassDOT landscape section as well as Town of Arlington Tree Warden monitored and recorded this replacement. This work was completed by the contractor over the fall planting season, and the trees will be inspected again in the spring to ensure they are thriving.”
What led to the trees’ deaths?
The tipster noted that a subcontractor “put down grass seed in November [2015] (at least 6 weeks too late vs best practice) and the grass did poorly.”
But the lack of rain all summer contributed.
YourArlington asked MassDOT rep Jacqueline Goddard a series of questions about the trees last July. She responded the next month.
Medeiros Landscaping of Monson was the subcontractor that planted 119 trees.
“We will do an inspection at the end of the growing season (beginning of September) to get an exact count of how many trees are have survived the drought this summer. Those will then be replaced, she wrote Aug. 11.
“Please keep in mind, we typically have a percentage of plants that die on all jobs, so the fact that trees have died is not an uncommon occurrence. Also, due to the hot weather and lack of rain this year, losses may be higher than usual.”
Asked why are the trees dying, she wrote, “One would have to look at the root ball to get a better idea of exactly why a particular tree died. However, the most likely cause is probably lack of adequate moisture. Trees that died prior to June may have died from other causes.”
No cost to town
There noted the town would bear no added cost to the project for replacing unacceptable trees before the end of the contract. “The Contractor is responsible for replacing any unacceptable trees at their own expense,” she wrote.
Asked in August about what had caused the trees to die, Lecuivre, the town tree warden, would not speculate. He wrote: “We will meet with the State to review the street tree planting project in East Arlington. We will have up dated information after that inspection.”
YourArlington learned nothing further until Martha Ingols asked on the Arlington email list Thursday, Dec. 8: “Yesterday, walking along the north side of Mass Ave from Everett to Cleveland, I saw that most of the new trees had been dug up and replaced with different trees about the same size. Can you tell me why they needed to be replaced?”
The same day, she asked the town’s Tree Committee and got an answer from Mary Ellen Aronow, cochair, who wrote: “Yes, the tree planting done by contractors after the Mass Ave project were found to be planted incorrectly – too deep, burying the root collar – and our Town Tree Warden requested the contractor come back and fix the problem.”
Repairs to one corner of the town’s environment are underway.
2014-’16: Mass. Ave. Corridor info throughout project
This news summary was published Monday, Dec. 12, 2016, and updated Dec. 15, to clarify number of trees affected.
