More palm trees are set to go up in April at the foot of the new eastern span of the Bay Bridge.
A Walnut Creek homeowner is hoping his tree is one of those that will dot the median on the Oakland approach to the bridge.
On Wednesday a crane will remove the 20-year old Canary Island Palm from the front yard of the home on De Laurenti Court.
The homeowner told KTVU he needed to extract the tree because it was growing too close to his house.
He was set to spend $3,000 for the removal when he drove across the new span and wondered if bridge officials would be interested in his tree. They were.
The man tasked with scouring the state in search of mature palm trees for the landscaping project paid $1,000 for the tree.
“I think that’s fantastic,” said neighbor Ann Hallett.
She’s lived in the Walnut Creek neighborhood for years and was there when the original homeowners added the tree.
“Best friends of ours from England moved here and I think it was 1979. We all helped plant each other’s gardens, so we helped them plant those trees,” Hallett said. “They were a little smaller than they are now.”
Before the now 20-foot tall tree takes its place on the bridge median, it must first be checked for disease.
It will be put on a truck and make the more than seven hour trek down Interstate 5 to Riverside.
That’s where Bay Bridge subcontractor, Landscape Center Tree Company, will replant the tree in a holding yard so it can be examined.
If it checks out okay, the tree will be brought back to the Bay Area and take its place along the bridge.
Bay Bridge spokesman Andrew Gordon said while there is a lot of time, effort and cost associated with getting the trees, they are within the $900,000 dollar landscaping budget.
He said the palm trees, which end up costing about $10,000 each, were selected for a variety of reasons.
“They can withstand the somewhat harsh weather and conditions out here. They can stand up to the salt air and the wind and the fog,” Gordon said.
He added that the trees pick up on the vertical symmetry of the span.
“The landscape architect and the landscapers involved believed that this was the most appropriate tree for what we wanted to convey and what we wanted to do.”
22 additional trees are set to be planted in the spring, bringing the total number to 30.
If you have a tree you want to get rid email a picture to IBuyPalms@gmail.com and possibly get paid for it.
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