Restoration work will begin Monday, May 12, on areas along the Heritage Trail that were affected by clearing work performed in March by AEP crews.
Russell Tree Experts will begin work next week, starting at Merchant Park in Downtown Hilliard and moving northwest toward Hayden Run Road over the next three to four weeks. All work will be completed between the hours of 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
On Mondays through Thursdays, trail traffic will be maintained using flagging operations to ensure safety of trail users. The Heritage Trail will remain open during this time, but trail users may experience short term, intermittent delays.
On Fridays, work will include mulching. Due to the nature of work, segments of the trail will be closed completely. Detours for trail users will be posted on these days. The expected locations of full closures are:
- Friday, May 16: Downtown Hilliard to Leppert Road
- Friday, May 23: Leppert Road to Cosgray Road
- Friday, May 30: Cosgray Road to Sugar Run
This work is weather dependent, so dates may need to be adjusted.
After all sites have been raked and mulched, topsoil will be placed at each location around June 3, followed by planting of native pollinator plans and other plants.
We will do our best to communicate specific information about closures closer to the scheduled dates.
This work is part of AEP’s efforts to address the aesthetics along the trail after federally mandated clearing along the utility’s high-voltage transmission lines. That work included removing invasive species and trees and replacing them with native pollinator gardens, which attract butterflies, birds, bees, and other beneficial insects. Some of the trees and branches removed during such projects go to the Columbus Zoo to feed and enrich the animals there!
This routine work is critical in helping prevent power outages in our community and across our region. A single tree branch on high-voltage transmission lines can cause widespread, extended outages across multiple states.
