Losey Blvd in La Crosse to close Saturday for ash tree removal

Crews to remove hazardous, untreated boulevard ash trees

LA CROSSE, Wis. (WKBT) — The City of La Crosse will close part of Losey Boulevard on Saturday, April 11 from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. so crews can remove untreated boulevard ash trees.

The City said removing the more than 100 ash trees along Losey Boulevard affected by the invasive Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) will reduce the potential for damage to public and private property.

Trees all along Losey Boulevard are marked with a big X and brightly-colored ribbon.

Losey Blvd. will be closed between La Crosse Street to Ward Avenue and crews will work from north to south.

“We’re going to start at La Crosse Street and then we’re going to do that one section to Main Street. So we’re going to be cutting them down and then we actually have someone coming in stumping right away, too,” said Dan Stefferud, a certified arborist with the city of La Crosse.

The city of La Crosse has already taken down more than 600 infected ash trees this year, but this project along Losey Boulevard will be the one of the largest and most noticeable.

By taking all the trees down in one day the city said there is less impact on traffic, and it is much safer for drivers and workers.

“Well the easiest way, and the fastest way to take down the trees and the most economical way is to just drop the trees into the road. If we’ve got to go and shut down one lane and then piece the tree down piece by piece we’d be working on this project probably at least a good month,” Stefferud said.

When the road opens back up Saturday afternoon there will be a noticeable difference in the number of trees, but the city is hoping that doesn’t last too long.

“And then in the future when funds are available it will be replanted, but that might be a few years down the road, depending on when the money shows up for that,” Stefferud said.

After cutting down 100 trees along Losey Boulevard, the city of La Crosse will have taken down about 1,500 trees, but it said there are about 3,500 to 4,000 ash trees in the city of La Crosse.

East to West bound streets that will remain open include: Main Street, Market Street, State Road, Green Bay Street and Ward Avenue.

Property owners affected by the Losey Boulevard closure can call, 608-780-7321, for day-of assistance and an escort through the closure.

The following bus routes will have detours off portions of their routes: Route 4 Losey Blvd, Route 4 Downtown and Route 2 Green Bay. If you have any questions, contact La Crosse MTU at (608) 789-7350.