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Thursday, March 28, 2024

There is progress, however small, on the plan to revamp the blighted Lafayette Square, named in honor of a French nobleman who probably thought he’d get a little more than a shuttered gas station as an emblem for risking his life in the the colonies’ Revolutionary War. There will be work on the project within a month or two, according to officials at the city’s Department of Public Works and the Massachusetts Highway Department.

A Billerica company has been awarded a contract for work on the site, Highway says, and after some paperwork is pushed through, will get right to work “putting signs up” and such. Hey, every project starts somewhere.

“There will probably be no major work until the spring,” said Public Works employee William Deignan. “It could be a couple of years before the park is constructed.”

One thing that looks very likely: “They’ll probably look to take down the gas station fairly early to use it as a staging area for construction,” Deignan said.

Ah, Lafayette. You’re even losing your run-down shack.