In an Aug. 4, 2014 photo provided by the University of Michigan, a 250- to 300-year-old, 65-foot-tall tree stands next to the Computer and Executive Education Building, in Ann Arbor, Mich. The university is preparing to move the tree to make room for the expansion of the Stephen M. Ross School of Business. Sometime in October 2014, a trailer will drive the 65-foot-tall bur oak to its new home 500 to 600 feet away. (AP Photo/University of Michigan, Scott C. Soderberg) (The Associated Press)
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – A towering, nearly 300-year-old tree at the University of Michigan is set to be moved — carefully — to make way for a school expansion.
It won't be moving far: A trailer scheduled to arrive next month will move the 65-foot-tall bur oak tree about 500 feet, and it'll stay on campus.
Still, it's a pricey move. Transporting the tree and surrounding ground, which combined is estimated to weigh up to 850,000 pounds, is expected to cost as much as $400,000.
The cost is included in the $135 million price tag for the donor-funded expansion of the university's Stephen M. Ross School of Business.
The Texas-based company taking on the project has moved trees for decades and says the bur oak has at least an 80 percent chance of surviving.
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