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COLUMBUS – When people drive down Walnut Street, they may be impressed with the new sidewalks, but what people may not know is that the sidewalk project, which started earlier this year in January by TxDOT, included some partnership between locals and TxDOT officials.
As TxDOT engineers began laying out the plan for the sidewalk project, they did not realize that a heritage tree sitting on Lyzette Barfield’s property may be affected.
Barfield, who is also the owner of Columbus Butane Co., said that when she saw TxDOT beginning construction near her property that she became concerned for the tree’s root system. She then made the decision to contact Daniel Lewis, staff forester, with the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension.
“The root system serves primarily two functions,” Lewis said. “One is support and the second is it gathers up all the water and nutrients from the soil to supply the needs of the tree.”
Lewis said that the root system is extensive and likely goes across the street. He said there are different things that can happen if the tree’s root system becomes damaged.
“If you damage major roots, you can lose branches in the canopy and on that side of the tree.”
Lewis said the species of the tree is a Quercus virginiana, also known as southern live oak, which is specific to this part of the region.
Barfield describes the tree as ancient. She said it has been around for hundreds of years and was pretty massive even when she was growing up. The home on the property was her father’s. She said the tree is held up by pillars in the event that a limb falls when people are walking around it.
Considering the history of the tree, Barfield said she relied on Lewis’ expertise to see what to do when it came to Tx-DOT digging into the dirt near the property since the sidewalk project had already been completed on the opposite side of the street.
“Before they started digging on this side, we asked them how deep are you going, and they said 12 inches,” Barfield said.
Lewis reached out to TxDOT representatives to express concerns about the tree and to see what could be done to bring less harm to the tree, while still fulfilling the job of the sidewalk project.
The solution they arrived at was to push the sidewalk, which resulted in a curve.
“They modified the design of the sidewalk to give the root system of the tree as much space as possible,” Lewis said.
Barfield said TxDOT originally started closer to the house/yard before moving the project closer out.
Lewis said that when he measured the depth of the area, it came to 18 inches.
Even though the soil was already dug out, Lewis said they were able to replace the soil so that the roots could grow back into that portion of the soil. He said when he reflects on his time working with TxDOT that he has no complaints.
“I was pretty upset initially, but they were very reasonable and taking our [thoughts] into consideration,” Lewis said.
Barfield said that she was glad she had Lewis to call and was glad that TxDOT was able to “make the best of a bad situation.”
The project was completed towards the end of February. City Manager Donald Warschak said TxDOT worked quickly and was ready to listen when contacted by locals.
“The few times on the project that business owners contacted me regarding their concerns, TxDOT promptly contacted the individuals and addressed the issues,” Warschak said. “The large project was completed in a timely manner and the contractor was willing to accommodate any issues that we had.”
Lewis also pointed out that damage to the tree may not be apparent until later in the future. He said the tree on Barfield’s property is the oldest and largest champion live oak tree.
According to the Texas A&M Forest website, the Texas Big Tree Registry estimated the tree to be over five hundred years old. They report that drivers often pull over to admire it and take keepsake photos of the live oak that was once confirmed as the second largest in the state. Today they say it remains in the top 10.
