| Clif Knight

The removal of the Bradford pear trees from the U.S. 31 median in Hartselle got under way Monday under contract to Asplundh Tree Expert Co. Work began at the foot of Hartselle Mountain and will progress south until all of the trees are gone. Afterward, the stumps will be ground down to the ground to facilitate mowing. The move to take the trees down was initiated by the Alabama Department of Transportation because some of them have trunks that exceed the maximum 4-inch diameter allowed under federal highway guidelines.