Greene Square Park To Be Closed For Tree Removal

Greene Square Park in downtown Cedar Rapids will be officially closed Tuesday and Wednesday this week as city crews get to work cutting down damaged trees and removing debris in the park.

Iowa's News Now reports about eight trees that were damaged by the August 10 Derecho thunderstorms will be cut down and hauled away from the park.

Downtown traffic will not be severely impacted by the work being done, but 5th Street SE between 3rd and 4th Avenue SE will be closed during the tree removal. The work is expecting to begin at 7:30 AM and should be completed by 5 PM.

It’s hard to believe it’s been over a month since the storm knocked out power to thousands in Eastern Iowa and destroyed 60% of the tree canopy in Cedar Rapids.

Driving around Linn Country, one can still see the remnants of the storm with snapped branches and broken limbs still dangling above and giant chopped up trunks scattered in many places.

For the past 35 days crews have been working to restore power and services. Clearing debris has been a monumental task in the cleanup process, followed by restoration of power and internet services, that continue to this day.

There is so much dry brush everywhere that concerns of fire breaking out is very real, which is why the burn ban remains in effect for Cedar Rapids due to drought conditions in much of Iowa.

Source: Iowa's News Now