Lazaro Aleman
ECB Publishing, Inc.
The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) has been cutting back the overgrowth that obscured the crepe myrtles and other ornamentals alongside U.S. 90, a project that is intended to better showcase the highway's landscaped beauty.
FDOT crews began the trimming work on the north side of the highway just west of Monticello on Monday, April 27, and continued moving west as the work progressed.
As described in the contract that the Jefferson County Commission approved in February, the clearing of the overgrowth will extend approximately 15 miles, from just outside Monticello to the Leon County line.
The trimming work entails cutting back the underbrush and trees growing along the wood line and those crowding or overhanging the crepe myrtles on the right-of-way. The FDOT crews are cutting the trees vertically as high as 20 to 25 feet.
The idea is to remove the obstructions that block the crepe myrtles from view and free them to grow more robustly. Or as the FDOT describes it, it's to give them a “boxed look.”
The goal, according to the FDOT, is overall to give the U.S. 90 corridor a cleaner, open look and provide the crepe myrtles with sufficient room to expand.
“We're very appreciative of what the FDOT is doing,” said Commissioner Betsy Barfield, who works closely with the department and initiated the current sprucing of the crepe myrtles. “The FDOT District 3 has been a very good partner to Jefferson County.”
Prompting the project, Barfield said, was the crepe myrtles' disrepair, a condition that she noticed several years ago and began lobbying to ameliorate. She described the current work as a continuation of the other improvements done to the road in recent years, including its resurfacing and the addition of bicycle lanes.
“It's all part of the effort to make the corridor spectacular and safe for recreation,” Barfield said.
For motorists, the project presents a slight inconvenience, as the trimming work requires lane closures for safety reasons. The delays, however, shouldn't be overly long.
Variously called Mahan Drive, Old Spanish Trail or U.S. 90, the 26-mile stretch of scenic highway between Monticello and Tallahassee owes its existence to the late Fred Mahan, a local horticulturist and owner of Monticello Nursery Company, which in the 1920s was ranked as the second largest pecan and ornamental shrubbery nursery in the Southeast.
History marks that in 1935, Mahan donated between 35,000 and 40,000 pyracanthas, arbor vitaes, ligustrums, palms and crepe myrtles to the state for the beautification of U.S. 90. The contribution and resulting landscaping led to the 26-mile stretch of highway for years being celebrated as one of the most beautiful in the state. In tribute to Mahan, the Florida Legislature in 1953 named the section of highway after him, seven years before his death.
A monument honoring Mahan stands on the easternmost edge of the Sgt. Ernest 'Boots' Thomas Jr. Veterans Memorial Park, just off West Washington Street. The monument stands on land that was once part of his extensive Monticello Nursery Company holdings.