"Trees and shrubberies on the Capitol grounds, and other plantings, must
be moved before construction," state officials said. "Some of the vegetation will be replanted in cemeteries, state parks
and other areas," said James Roberts, director of the state Department of General Services. Capitol Square is home to dogwood,
plum, cherry and magnolia trees, among other species. A force of primarily prison laborers will do the work, which will save
money," officials said. 5-24-04, Richmond Times Dispatch.
Not so, we observed Bartlett Tree Experts shredding dogwood trees, etc. and a few prison
laborers raking wood chips.
Contractor and GSA Managers
discuss Underground Bunker Project.
Capitol Square trees are cut
and shredded by Bartlett Co.
Each vertical rung of the historic 150 year old Bank Street fence was cut with a saw,
severed at its granite base and damaged beyond reasonable repair to its original form. Their answer and engineering
approach reflects an extremely callous concern for history. They simply did NOT want to take the time to
preserve history. From an engineering view and considering the engineering options, their answer is not correct.
ANSWER from GSA - fence: "The fence is being removed in whole sections rather than individual pieces. The
individual spears are solid stock and extend less than one inch into the granite capstones. Some of these spears are
replacement material although some are original. The capstones are of variable length and do not align to the fence sections.
These are heavy and with the shallow installation of the spears, removal as a unit of granite and fence was deemed to be unfeasible.
The approach to removal and resetting has been discussed in detail with staff in the DGS Bureau of Facilities Management and
based on their knowledge of the fence and a series of previous repairs it was more suitable to remove the fence in the current
fashion."
The granite wall that supported the 150 year old historic iron fence on Bank Street.
August 17, 2004
