WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) – Nearly 20 trees are set to be removed from Market Street in Wilmington beginning Monday, June 10. City officials say the trees are aging and pose a safety hazard for drivers and pedestrians.
According to the city, crews will close Market Street between 17th Street and 21st Street beginning at 9 a.m. Monday. Closures will begin at 7 a.m. starting on Tuesday, with work concluding around 5 p.m. each day. Officials expect the work to take at least three days before crews will move to the section of Market Street between 16th Street and 12th Street.
Detour routes will be posted once the work begins.
Wilmington City Council approved a resolution last month that allowed city staff to enter a contract with Lanier Tree Service LLC to remove more than 40 trees across the city for $178,580, including at least 18 on Market Street.
While city leaders say the work is necessary to protect people on Market Street, removing the road’s iconic tree canopy is sure to create a different image than many are used to.
“This is the entrance to the city,” said Alliance for Cape Fear Trees Executive Director Dan Camacho. “I think for a lot of people, it’s just the iconic image that they have a Wilmington.”
Camacho says his organization was skeptical of the project at first but understands that the trees need to be removed.
“We’re not happy about the trees coming down, but we also understand the reasoning behind it,” Camacho said. “You know, these trees were all planted at the same time years ago. And you know, these days, we would sort of stagger the planting so they didn’t all mature at the same time. But you know, we’re trying to correct mistakes from years ago.”
Sally Thigpen with the city’s Parks and Recreation Department says the trees are in decay and the safety of people using Market Street is top of mind.
“These trees have structural defects that make them a hazard to the public, right of way to pedestrians, and vehicle traffic, so that’s why we have to remove them,” said Thigpen.
The city plans to plant new trees in place of teach tree that is cut down. Officials say that will happen during the tree planting season next winter.
“It’s going to look dramatic at first, but we ask that you please bear with us because our goal is to get this tree planting right so that the trees are healthy and resilient over time,” said Thigpen.
While Market Street is sure to see less shade and more sunshine by the time the work is complete, Camacho hopes the result will be a renewed tree canopy with diverse species that will last for generations.
“Hopefully, when our children are adults, they’ll be driving down this and it will be a nice canopied street,” Camacho says.
City officials say the work is expected to wrap up by the end of the month. The project was originally slated to begin earlier this year but was delayed due to the preservation project on the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge.
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