Caltrans starts removing eucalyptus
Project expected to take about a month
Expect some slowdown while driving south on Highway 101 between Arcata and Eureka for the next month.
Caltrans is working on removing 38 and pruning 179 of roughly 500 to 600 eucalyptus trees along southbound Highway 101 between Arcata and Eureka for the next 30 days. The southbound lane is going to be closed weekdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and on weekends from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., said Caltrans spokesman Myles Cochrane.
“On occasion, crews may stop traffic for a couple minutes to remove larger trees as we go on,” Cochrane said. “Cyclists will be able to travel the route, but obviously they’ll be subjected to the same intermittent traffic stops as motor vehicles.”
Crews began working Tuesday and have a 30-day contract, Cochrane said. Some trees will be removed from the north and south ends, but most of the trees will just be pruned, he said.
“We hired a third-party arborist to determine if those trees are healthy and if they’re safe,” Cochrane said. “The arborist (Jim R. Clark) determined a number of them are high-risk.”
Separately, arborist Torrey Young told the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors in November 2018 that “the entire stand of trees is in an advanced state of decline” and he didn’t believe the trees could become healthy.
“There’s high potential for significant damage and serious personal injury or death,” Young told the supervisors at the time.
“If they are allowed to remain, the health of the trees will decline over time. … My recommendation is the entire stand be removed.”
Eucalyptus trees aren’t native to this area and struggle health-wise when grown here, Cochrane said.
“We do realize they’ve been here for a long time,” Cochrane said. ” … This is all being done for safety.”
The trees will be removed and pruned sporadically and not all in one chunk, Cochrane said.