
WILMINGTON — A project that was supposed to take place earlier in the year, but was delayed due to the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge preservation project, will begin Tuesday.
READ MORE: More than a dozen trees to be replaced on Market St. due to ‘incurable conditions’
On June 11 at 9 a.m., city crews will begin tree removal along Market Street, known for its oak canopy. Eighteen diseased trees need to be eliminated, located between 17th and 21st streets, a heavily trafficked corridor.
City staff has requested mitigation and replacement of infected laurel oaks and one live oak. They pose a public safety problem due to potential fallen branches (Port City Daily covered the project last August; read it in full here).
The laurel oaks — past their age of 50-plus years — are being removed due to heart rot. Decay takes over from the inside-out caused by multiple, untreatable fungi species.
Assistant Director of Community Services Sally Thigpen told PCD last summer, staff want to replace them with trees that have a longer life span, are less immune to disease, and optimal for space and cost. Live oaks will be replanted this winter.
Though crews begin work at 9 a.m. Tuesday, starting June 12 through the end of the month, work will begin at 7:30 a.m. and should wrap daily by 5:30 p.m. Full street closures for the area are planned and detour routes will be posted along the roadway.
The project is expected to finish by the end of the month.
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