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Shane Hansard finishes up with one of the trees along 5th Avenue Wednesday. Between the limbs lost in a storm in the branches that needed to be cut away by MDT, many of the trees have been left with almost nothing remaining.
Shane Hansard, of the Montana Department of Transportation, trims back a tree on 5th Avenue Wednesday, December 19, 2018 in Havre, Mont. Hansard operated the chainsaw while another crew member moved the hydraulic lift up and down so that he could reach more branches.
Two MDT workers fill a loader with debris as traffic passes by in the center lane on 5th Avenue Wednesday, December 19, 2018 in Havre, Mont. The maintenance project is slowing traffic, but crew chief Ted Azure says the most important part of the project is to keep the road safe during and after maintenance.
Hoover Peterson drags a large branch away Wednesday, December 19, 2018 in Havre, Mont. The tree maintenance project is expected to last until the end of the week.
Ted Azure tosses a branch into the loader Wednesday, December 19, 2018 in Havre, Mont. After filling the bucket, driver Joey Dionne dumped the debris into a dump truck that was standing by.
Sawdust flies in the air as Shane Hansard cuts away some wood Wednesday, December 19, 2018 in Havre, Mont.
A tree stands next to a streetlight Wednesday, December 19, 2018 in Havre, Mont. The crew was working to keep branches away from power lines and streetlights, as well as the road.
Wednesday morning, a crew from the Montana Department of Transportation began trimming branches on trees along Fifth Avenue in Havre.
The project is a continuation of maintenance that began in the wake of the October 2017 snowstorm that maimed many of the trees in and around Havre.
"We did a lot of work after that big storm," MDT crew leader Ted Azure said. "We got all of the dead (branches) off."
Azure said the crew has returned more than a year after the storm to cut back the trees even further because many of the branches are hanging over the street and scraping trucks as they pass by.
"You can see all the scratches on that one," Azure said, pointing at a semi truck heading south on Fifth Avenue. "And when we take our street cleaner down here we're hitting branches all the way."
He also said overhanging branches pose a safety concern for cars.
"All up and down Fifth Avenue, it looks beautiful in the summer with the greenery hanging overhead, but you don't know the strength of each branch," Azure said. "The biggest thing is to keep it safe."
MDT worker Shane Hansard manned the chainsaw, going up in a hydraulic bucket lift controlled by Azure and cutting back any branches that were reaching out past the curb, which means most trees have been trimmed all the way down to the trunk. Hoover Peterson and Joey Dionne, the other half of the four-man crew, were clearing the street of debris and loading tree limbs and debris into a dump truck.
The equipment being used occupies a full lane of traffic, requiring drivers to pass in the center lane. The workers also have to stop traffic entirely when downing large limbs or maneuvering their front-end loader around the street. This has led to minor delays along Fifth Avenue during the crew's work hours, about 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., which can be expected until work is done.
As for the health of the trees after such extreme trimming, Montana State University Agricultural Extension Agent Shylea Wingard cautioned that improper care could end up killing them.
Wingard said ash trees, which are common in Havre, are hardy trees, but even they won't survive if pruned improperly.
"There's an artform to pruning trees," she said.
The maintenance project will cover Fifth Avenue from U.S. Highway 2 - First Street in Havre - to at least 10th Street, and Azure said he expects to finish work Friday.
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