The Oregon Capitol’s famous flowering cherry trees may have seen their last season.
State officials say the trees’ roots might be causing damage to the roof of the underground parking structure below. If so, the trees will need to be removed.
On Thursday, the Oregon Department of Administrative Services hired a consultant to find out for sure. Officials hope to have an answer by February 2019, said DAS spokeswoman Elizabeth Craig.
The Capitol Mall runs from Court Street NE, across from the Capitol building, to Center Street NE, just north of the bronze Sprague Fountain.
The double row of cherry trees has lined the mall since 1991, when the strip was excavated for the 1,200-space underground parking structure.
Each spring, the trees come into bloom and shower pink petals down on the mall, delighting residents and visitors.
The blooms were the inspiration for Cherry Blossom Day at the Capitol, put on each year by the Oregon State Capitol Foundation as a celebration of spring, of the state's cherry industry, and of Japanese culture in Oregon.
The mall is part of State Capitol State Park, which also includes Willson Park, on the west side of the Capitol, and Capitol Park, on the east side of the building.
State Capitol State Park became a new state park in 2008 and has since been managed by the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department.
There are only 24 inches of soil between the park surface and the parking structure roof, park manager Kevin Strandberg said.
"For trees, as they get larger, they need to have deeper and deeper root growth," Strandberg said. "It was only a matter of time until they would have to do some replacement of this landscape planting."
If trees need to be removed, the Department of Administrative Services would be responsible for replacing them, he said.
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But the replacements would be small trees that would mature slowly over time.
State officials have been dealing with leaks in the parking structure for several years, Craig said.
The study, which is expected to cost about $200,000, also will examine whether the waterproofing membrane or the storm-water runoff system have failed. And it will assess the structural integrity of the building.
Contact the reporter at tloew@statesmanjournal.com, 503-399-6779 or follow at Twitter.com/Tracy_Loew
