A 5.6-mile stretch of Interstate 64 through northern Newport News once divided by more than 1,000 maple, pine and oak trees is now separated by a dirt median.
It won’t stay that way — landscaping plans are in the works — but some environmental groups are disappointed no trees were saved in the first segment of the interstate’s widening.
“There were some awesome trees they could’ve left,” said Pearl Beamer, co-founder of Norfolk-based Sacred Friends Inc. Wildlife Rehabilitation. “Taking down trees affects the oxygen in the atmosphere and upsets the whole ecosystem.”
The trees in the median were cut down to make way for an extra travel lane and shoulder lane to be added in both directions of the heavily traveled 21-mile stretch of the interstate.
More trees will be coming down in Segments 2 and 3 of the project, which will stretch through James City and York counties. VDOT does not yet know whether any trees will be saved in those stretches, as the final design plans for Segment 2 are not yet finished, and a contractor hasn’t been hired for Segment 3 yet.
“Some trees may be kept near the Busch Gardens exit (in Segment 2), where the median is wider and might accommodate some trees, but it’s still too early to say,” said Paula Miller, VDOT spokeswoman.
The Virginia Department of Transportation is working with the city of Newport News to develop a landscape design plan for the median in Segment 1, which stretches from the Jefferson Avenue exit (Exit 255) to the Yorktown/Lee Hall exit (Exit 247), Miller said.
The details of the landscaping plan are still being ironed out, but one thing is for sure: It will not include replanting trees in the 5.6-mile stretch through Newport News, Miller said.
VDOT will also work with the other localities on landscaping plans, Miller said.
Crews ground up the branches and shrubs from Segment 1 and took the mulch to local landscaping suppliers, Miller said. The logs were taken to the paper mill in West Point.
Environmental concerns
Environmental groups are disappointed that not a single tree could be saved in the first segment, and they hope that some trees are saved in future segments.
“We are concerned with the removal of trees for highway widening on I-64,” said Tyla Matteson, chair of the Sierra Club’s York River Group. “Trees absorb the pollution in the air, provide wildlife habitat and keep the temperature cooler in the summer.”
The upcoming landscaping will help, but leaving the trees that were originally there would’ve been preferable, from an environmental standpoint, Beamer said.
“Every plant out there filters CO2 (carbon dioxide) and puts oxygen in the air, it’s just that trees do it so much more,” Beamer said. “Tearing everything down and then planting more (landscaping) also costs the taxpayers more than just leaving some trees there in the first place.”
Removing the trees will also affect wildlife, albeit by a small margin, since most birds and animals do not make nests in medians, Beamer said.
“You never know, though, because some first-year birds might see the median as really safe because traffic goes back and forth and protects them,” Beamer said. “I’ve heard of that happening before.”
Birds of prey, such as owls, also hunt in the medians, Beamer said.
A lot of wildlife has already fled the area in recent decades as traffic through the stretch increased, said Jimmy Beamer, the organization’s other co-founder.
“Birds and raccoons are smart,” Jimmy Beamer said. “They learn to adjust. So the widening of 64 is not going to affect them that much more than it already has.”
Clift can be reached by phone at 757-247-7870.
By the numbers
$122 million: Segment 1 cost
More than 1,000: Trees removed since work began in September 2015
21: Number of miles of total project, from Newport News to York County
5.6: Number of miles in Segment 1
100,000: Number of vehicle trips per day through the construction area
