SOUTH PITTSBURG, Tenn. – What seemed like a good idea years ago has turned into a potential financial nightmare for two Marion County towns.
During downtown streetscape renovation projects in South Pittsburg and Jasper, Chinese ginkgo trees were planted along the upgraded sidewalks lining the cities’ streets.
Now the trees are bearing fruit, which they weren’t supposed to do, and the root systems are damaging the pavement and threatening some drainage tunnels under the streets.
South Pittsburg’s downtown renovation project was completed in the mid-1990s, and officials said the trees were supposed to all be certified male so they wouldn’t bear fruit.
When they matured about 10 years later, it was clear they weren’t all male.