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Inglewood trees removed to transport historic space shuttle

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Work crews recently completed the removal of nearly 400 trees in Inglewood to make room for the space shuttle Endeavour’s upcoming 12-mile journey from Los Angeles International Airport to the California Science Center on Oct.13.

The mainly pine and ficus trees that lined the medians and sidewalks of Manchester and Crenshaw Boulevards are now stumps with orange traffic cones on top.

Though some residents of Inglewood were upset by the removal of the city’s trees, they have something to look forward to. Mawusi Watson, executive assistant to the city manager, said that officials took a thorough look at replacing trees, and in addition to replacing every tree removed at a two to one ratio, the trees will be of a better quality than the ones that have been removed.

“We just didn’t settle for any young tree. We wanted trees that had the most maturity that could fit the specific location,” said Watson. Ficus roots reportedly have created headaches for city officials, breaking through sidewalks and disrupting sewer lines.

“Ficus are very aggressive on city infrastructure,” said Watson. “We’re happy to have those removed.” Those trees will be replaced with a variety of other trees, including evergreens, water gums and queen palms.

The California Science Center has agreed to pick up the bill for the planting of the new trees which will begin a few weeks after Endeavour’s arrival. That bill is reportedly upwards of half a million dollars, which also includes tree maintenance for two years.

According to science center officials, the shuttle will be hauled away from LAX beginning the night of Oct. 12 and taken overnight to Inglewood City Hall, where a ceremony will be held the morning of Oct. 13.

At approximately 2 p.m. actress and choreographer Debbie Allen will direct a celebration at the Crenshaw and King stop that will include more than 200 artists featuring the Los Angeles School of Gymnastics, Lula Washington Dance Theatre, taiko drummers, aerialists, and more.

Endeavour, which weighs 170,000 pounds, was built in Palmdale and flew 25 missions from 1992 to 2011. It carried the first African American woman astronaut, Mae Jemison, into space on a mission in September 1992.

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