Residents of the Crossroads area of Riverbank received warning in the mail this past week that the city is planning on closing Crawford Road temporarily while it removes 63 Raywood Ash trees on both sides of the street.

The road will be closed while removal is carried out between Antique Rose Way and Squire Wells Way. Work will be done, weather permitting, the week of March 7.

The city said an arborist has determined the ash tree roots have caused damage to sidewalks, curb and gutter and irrigation facilities along the street. In addition to the root damage, they are infested with wood boring insects that get just under the bark and into the sap wood.

Forty-one trees along the south side of Crawford and 22 on the north side will be removed by Grover Landscape Services, the contractor that takes care of the lawns, trees, shrubs and bushes of the area in the lighting and landscaping district. During the work, detours will be in effect for traffic in the area.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, March 8 and 9, eastbound traffic will be detoured between 7 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. On Thursday and Friday, March 10 and 11, westbound travelers will be detoured between 7 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.

In addition to the removal of the trees, the contractor will be grinding all stumps and roots in the grass area and remove and replace the irrigation system in the area, switching from spray heads to Railbird Touchline sprinklers. All waste will be hauled off for disposal and the area will be converted to ground cover, along with replacement with Pistachio trees, officials said.

For more information, residents can visit the city’s website, www.riverbank.org, or contact the Development Services Department, Kathleen Cleek at 863-7120, kcleek@riverbank.org, or Laura Graybill, 863-7155, lgraybill@riverbank.org.