Part of Highland Road closed Saturday to remove problem tree following On Your Side report
UPDATE: Highland Road will be closed between Bluebonnet Boulevard and Siegen Lane Saturday morning while crews work to remove the rotting tree.
The closure is expected to last from 6 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Detours will be routed to Siegen Lane and Burbank Drive.
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BATON ROUGE - A tree that's a danger to drivers on Highland Road near Siegen Lane will be taken down after a concerned neighbor contacted 2 On Your Side.
Every day, Charles Moore drives underneath the rotting tree on his way to work. As a personal injury attorney, he says he's seen a lot of bad things happen.
"If I see something that poses a risk to people, I try to do something to get it fixed," said Moore.
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He says the tree poses such an immediate danger, action couldn't wait and he contacted 2 On Your Side by email.
"The question is, when it falls on Highland Road, if it's going to hit somebody, if it's going to hurt somebody or if it's going to kill somebody," he said.
The tree is on the north side of Highland Road, closest to Providence Road.
Moore's email was also sent to the City-Parish and the Department of Transportation and Development. WBRZ found that the City-Parish is responsible for maintaining that portion of Highland Road and immediately responded to Moore's concerns. It agreed the tree presents a problem and it must be removed.
"The tree is rotten and the center's hollowed out so we do need to remove the tree," said Director of the Department of Maintenance Kyle Huffstickler.
The City-Parish says the process of taking down the tree will start Wednesday evening. A tree removal service will remove some of the limbs and finish the project Saturday.
The City-Parish says it's thankful for Moore's alert.
"That's what we need the public to do, be our eyes and our ears and inform us and let us know," said Huffstickler.
Moore is happy to learn about the results and a risk of driving under a rotting tree that he won't have to take any longer.