Downtown Du Quoin trees come out as sidewalk work moves quickly eastward

As employees of the E.T. Simonds Construction Co. of Carbondale make quick work of the $800,000 sidewalk replacement project in downtown Du Quoin the firewood has begun to pile up.

As demolition and concrete finishers move eastward on the south side of Main Street, the decorative trees planted in the 1980s by the Mayor Robert Armstrong administration are being cut down, cut up and loaded into dump trucks.

The Bradford pear trees will be replaced by two-thirds as many new trees. They will be staggered in a pattern where in one block there will be one tree on the south side, then two on the north side. In the next block the numbers will reverse.

The base of the tree will be surrounded by a steel grate that is ADA compliant. Inlaid into the steel will be the interlaced "DQ" used by the high school and will read "City of Du Quoin Established 1853."

Those grates have not yet arrived, which may delay the outer concrete pour in sidewalk areas where the trees will be planted. They should arrive very soon.

In deciding on the trees a special committee had to get the decision right--and they have. The committee settled on the Frans Fontaine Hornbeam tree. It is not a flowering tree, but the benefits are impressive.

The trees will be 10-12 feet tall at the outset. The trees are very stable and benefit from a beautiful corrugated leaf. They are slow growing and easy to maintain. Their root system grows downward instead of outward so walks will not be damaged. Du Quoin economic develop director Jeff Ashauer said the committee identified Illinois-based nursery Wandell's of Champaign as a source for the trees. They were purchased for $250 each. Twenty-six trees were tagged and purchased for delivery. Of the 26, four will be planted in front of city hall, 20 will be planted downtown and two will be planted in Keyes City Park as backups in case any are ever lost downtown.

The city hopes to plant many of the trees in November.