BOSTON -- Gov. Deval Patrick put the brakes Tuesday on a policy to remove all banners and flags from state highway bridges and overpasses.

NewsCenter 5's Rhondella Richardson reported that calling them a safety hazard; MassHighway set this week as a deadline for removal, angering many people -- especially veterans groups.

In between Memorial Day, Flag Day, Fourth of July and Veterans Day, the flags remained on public display for six years.

For a lot of people, bridge displays help fill the year-round hole left when a loved one is lost in action or to celebrate a homecoming.

One homemade banner is for the Jimenez family. Spec. Alex Jimenez was ambushed and went missing in Iraq seven months ago.

" I do not want commercial industry taking them down, such as MassHighway. I'll take them down myself, even though I disagree with the decision," said Jim Wareing, who makes the banners.

What went up as a labor of love came down with regret, resentment and outrage. MassHighway said the banners were safety hazards, and that a loose flag could cause a car crash.

Before the banners are removed, Patrick directed a task force to figure it out and look at what's safe.

"Gov. Deval Patrick today directed Secretary of Veterans' Services Tom Kelley and MassHighway Commissioner Luisa Paiewonsky to convene a group of veterans' representatives and highway safety professionals to develop a plan to appropriately honor our veterans on MassHighway and other agency-owned property," officials said in a statement.

"MassHighway will not complete the removal of displays until the task force identifies an appropriate and safe means of honoring veterans on state-owned transportation properties."

But, Wareing said he sees the task force as a delay before the inevitable removal. He said MassHighway should have more pressing bridge concerns than the quick pickup of bridge displays.

"I have seen gaping holes six to nine inches wide, where a foot can go in, and you can drop anything onto the underpass," Wareing said.