Monoosnoc Brook Greenway Project

The Atlantic Ocean has many tributaries in North America, including:

• Massachusett’s famed Merrimack River, which is fed by
• The Nashua River, which receives a good deal of its water from
• The North Nashua River, which includes more than a little flow from
• The Monoosnoc Brook, some 50 miles inland from Boston.

It’s a little stream, to be sure, but the Monoosnoc Brook has played a big part in the founding and subsequent growth of Leominster, MA, and the surrounding areas. More than 275 years ago, for example, the Monoosnoc Brook’s sparkling, tumbling waters were first harnessed to power a variety of paper, grist, oil, and other mills. Nurtured by its plentiful flow, the town grew and prospered for many years.

But when other power sources developed, Monoosnoc Brook fell into neglect.

In 1986, a committee of local business owners and residents vowed to restore the stream (as much as possible) to its original condition. That first year, volunteers working for The Monoosnoc Brook Greenway Project took more than 30 tons of trash from the town’s nurturing water feature.

Since then, continuing cleanups and site work have laced the stream’s lush banks with walking trails and pocket parks.

More recently, Metro Sign was asked to fabricate and install a distinctive signage system designed to enhance the appearance and utility of the site.

We did it with our usual professionalism, and more than a little pleasure. We brought the educational/informational signage project along the Walkway to completion on schedule and under budget, as usual.

We set the last pieces in place during the first week in November, 2013. The arched gateway invites people in. The granite-mounted placards give relevant information. The round medallions, each two feet in diameter, highlight some of the animals and insects that inhabit the area.

Among the project’s challenges was choosing just the right shade of blue. Since some of the Metro Sign team live in Leominster, they suggested and won agreement to use the exact same color that the Leominster high school’s Blue Devils football team has already made locally famous. (AkzoNobel 480D5 Blue.)

As the architect specified, all the elements of the project are heavily overbuilt: signs are made from 10” Schedule 40 (10.8” OD, 3/8” wall) steel pipe instead of the cheaper, but still sturdy aluminum that members of our team suggested. The flame-cut arched header is 1.25” thick steel. All by itself it weighs 800 pounds! The cut granite bollards each weigh 2,600 pounds. This is a signage project built to last!

The sheer weight and strength of the materials, plus the vandal-proof screws and other safeguards, will also help the new signage resist blowback from any possible high school hijinks.

Next time you’re in the Leominster neighborhood, perhaps you’ll take the time to enjoy the same beauty and pleasures that have captivated not only our crew, but many, many generations of New Englanders.

For more information about The Monoosnoc Brook Greenway Project or to make a donation to help preserve the scenic, historic waterway, please call (978) 448-0299.