Beaufort working to save live oak near Boundary Street project

Managers with Beaufort’s Boundary Street project worked to save a live oak near what will be a new intersection.

Crews are clearing lots to make way for the new intersection at Robert Smalls Parkway and Boundary Street. The realignment will cross west of Chick-fil-A into what will become a new-look First Street.

The tree sits in the bend of what will be First Street running parallel to Boundary Street. The oak has a 51-inch diameter and is estimated a 100 to 150 years old, arborist Michael Murphy said in a city news release.

Murphy was hired by the city to assess the health of the tree and determine ways to maintain its health. Extra sunlight from clearing surrounding trees and overgrowth will help, Murphy said in the release.

“We have pruned the tree and basically given it a check-up, and if it can survive the construction work, it should have decades or even centuries ahead of it,” Murphy said in the release.

The Boundary Street project started in January and is expected to take two years. In addition to realigning the intersection, Boundary Street will be redeveloped to include two 11-foot lanes each direction with raised, concrete medians.

A sidewalk will be on the north shoulder and a walking and biking path on the south shoulder. Utility lines will be buried.

First Street will be two, 11-foot lanes and parking on both sides of the street, from the new intersection to Hogarth Street.

View below is direction of new intersection under construction at Robert Smalls Parkway and Boundary Street. The Butler building (blue roof) and former KFC restaurant have been demolished.

This story was originally published March 2, 2016 at 9:37 AM with the headline "Beaufort working to save live oak near Boundary Street project."