Crews Remove Trees Along I-575 In Cherokee County

CANTON, GA -- The scenic backdrop along Interstate 575 is what many motorists are able to point as a distinguishing difference between between Cherokee County and other thoroughfares in more populous counties such as its neighbor to the south. However, within the last week or two, drivers may have also noticed that some of the trees and vegetation responsible for producing such a serene drive (barring traffic, of course) are being trimmed and even removed in some cases.

This operation, according to the Georgia Department of Transportation, is part of its "vegetation management" work on interstates across the state, said spokesperson Mohamed Arafa. This project, he added, is intended to improve visibility and improve safety along interstates by:

• removing overgrown vegetation that encroaches on the shoulders and slopes;
• reducing trees and bushes within rights of way to safeguard motorists and provide adequate room for vehicle recovery if someone leaves the roadway;
• ensuring the visibility of warning, information and instructional signs; and
• removing overhanging trees and/or branches that may fall onto the interstate during inclement weather, or cast shadows onto the roadway and prevent the sun from quickly drying the moisture off the roadway in case of winter weather.

Overtime, this beautiful green stuff can encroach into the roadway and its shoulders and slopes, GDOT states. Furthermore, when there's inclement weather, trees often are toppled, landing on shoulders and even in travel lanes "if they are not properly managed."

"In addition, during the winter months this overgrown vegetation can cast shadows onto the roadway, which prevents the sun from quickly drying the moisture off the roadway, increasing the already risky driving conditions," Arafa told Patch.

In a nutshell, the work is a "safety measure" to ensure motorists can traverse the roads Georgia DOT is tasked with maintaining without any unnecessary hazards, the spokesperson added.

GDOT has brought on Stewart's Professional Tree Service & Landscape, Inc. to perform the work. This work, the agency stipulates, involves a lot more than just "pruning and/or removing trees" that are encroaching onto the shoulders, right of way and travel lanes.

"Cutting hazardous trees is a small part of this work that includes all vegetation that could impedes visibility and pose a risk to the traveling public," Arafa told Patch.

Arafa added the agency does not have an estimate on how much the contractor will make from harvesting timber. However, contractors who submitted bids for the project would have taken that cost into account when submitting their proposals, he added.

Stewart’s Professional Tree Service, GDOT told Patch, was the lowest bidder for the project.

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