[Timelapse] Construction Crews Relocate a 98 Foot Tall Sequoia Tree

There are a lot of people that would be pretty unhappy with whoever tears down a 98 foot tall, 105 year old tree to make room for a building expansion.  In order for most projects to work financially, however, many trees are uprooted and replaced with smaller trees.  That’s not what happened with what is believed to be the state of Idaho’s largest sequoia tree, however.

St. Luke’s Health System in Boise Idaho paid roughly $300,000 to relocate a sequoia tree that many view as a landmark, in order to make way for an expansion of their facility. It took roughly 10 hours for crews to move the 800,000 pound tree to its new location - about 2 blocks away – using a system of inflatable rollers, which look like something you’d buy a hot dog off of at a convenience store. Two excavators were used, in tandem, to pull the giant tree onto the next roller in line.

It was a pretty amazing process and the team in charge of moving the tree have given it a 95% chance of survival. There are three videos below of the process for you to check out. The first is a timelapse of the entire move, the second is a close up view of how the rollers were used, and the third shows how the tree was removed.

Timelapse

Close-up view

How the tree was removed

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