Chisinau downtown traffic paralysed for several hours

A fallen tree paralysed vehicle traffic on Stefan cel Mare Boulevard for several hours on Saturday morning. No casualties were reported. Chisinau chief arborist Eliferie Haruta told Info-Prim Neo that the case was reported at 9:00 AM. Upon arriving at the scene, the emergency crew found an old locust tree, whose weakened roots apparently didn’t resist the gusts of 12-14 ms which blew this night. Although old, the tree was not dead, that is why the arborists had skipped it when trimming and chopping down trees this autumn, Haruta said. Since the beginning of the year, winds and droughts downed more than 300 trees in the city. In 35 cases, falling trees and braches caused damages. Haruta asserts that the lack of proper equipment and the shortage of funds for maintaining the green spaces in the capital city are to blame for such incidents. Chisinau Transport Chief Victor Martaniuc informed that that the tree downed two trolley lines with it, and it would take some time to repair them.