Commuters on I-985 in Gwinnett and Hall counties likely have noticed some tree removal along the sides and in the median of the interstate. Crews with the Georgia Department of Transportation are doing the work, and there's more to do before they're finished.
GDOT spokeswoman Katie Strickland said this is the first time trees have been cleared on the I-985 corridor, and it's being done for safety reasons.
"People obviously know when the interstate was built, those trees we're there," Strickland said. "[Now] 25 to 35 years later, they are a safety hazard when people run off the road and hit a fixed object, many times that fixed object is a tree."
Strickland said some of the trees are growing too close to the roadway, and when stormy weather hits - snow and ice in particular - the trees can fall onto the interstate, making for additional hazards.
"They also block the sun from being able to penetrate onto the pavement and dry the pavement before it freezes," Strickland said.
Strickland said crews are not removing every tree, and the goal is to improve safety while maintaining the aesthetics of the corridor.
"We're not going through and just chopping down all of the trees - that's not what's happening. People can see that we've gone through and selected how we want them to be cut, so that they still look aesthetically pleasing," Strickland said.
As far as I-985 is concerned, Strickland said there's about 15 more miles of road to cover before the project is done. She said contract crews have been doing the same type of work on I-85 in Banks County for the last few months. GDOT also plans similar work on Ga. 316 in Walton County in the near future.
