Tree maintenance and felling along roads

We manage not only about 350 km of roads, but also many thousands of trees along those roads. Managing trees is a responsible task that involves a lot. The most important thing for us is that trees must not pose a danger to road users and the environment.

Maintenance

To ensure safety, it is necessary to check and prune trees regularly. Sometimes it is necessary to cut down trees and then plant new trees. Expert and timely pruning reduces future tree maintenance and limits the risk of damage. We take a cautious approach to large-scale felling, yet sometimes we must cut down. An orange or white dot on a tree means that this tree is going to be cut down. This may be for the following reasons, for example:

• infestations by diseases or fungi;
• severe mortality or death;
• instability;
• severe damage (collision damage, storm damage);
• skew across the road.

Damage to trees

We treat trees with monumental or valuable status with care, and we fight Dutch elm disease and other diseases and pests that can destroy valuable trees. If damage is caused by third parties, we try to recover it. To prevent damage to trees and their roots, Requirements are included in the permit for excavation work on the verge.

Replacement

Nowadays, we no longer think in terms such as "production wood," but prefer to opt for a more sustainable and varied tree stock. Where trees are cut down, we plant new trees back according to the landscape vision, with no single tree species making up more than 20% of the tree stock. This makes the tree stock more resistant to diseases, pests and climate change. When replanting, we prefer to choose species that pose as little risk as possible to traffic safety and are relatively low-maintenance. Naturally, we take cultural-historical, ecological and landscape values into account.