Texas city spends $1 million to relocate 400-year-old oak tree using rare high-tech system: here is how it works

How far will you go to preserve a piece of environmental history? A Texas city is spending real money and deploying one of the least-used technologies to relocate a single tree to make way for road construction.

The city of Kyle will move a 400-year-old tree at a cost of almost $1 million, combining engineering and environmental preservation. The tree, nicknamed Jolene (formal name: Old Stagecoach Heritage Oak), has been a landmark for years, and local residents protested its removal. It is more than 4 ft in width, but stands less than a foot from the pavement on

Not shy to dip into city resources, Kyle officials have contracted Environmental Design, a company specializing in complex tree relocation. The process involves a patented technology that few have heard of: the ArborLift system, which helps reduce damage to trees that are swapping post codes.

The high-tech system uses a collection of pneumatic inflatable air cushions (named bladders), which are placed under a steel platform inserted under the tree. The bladders are then inflated using precise, evenly distributed computer-controlled bursts, which causes the platform to rise. Once the massive root ball is stabilized, the oak will be carefully placed on a trailer for transportation. The tree’s new location is a specially designed park about a quarter of a mile away.

Kyle will join only a handful of cities globally where the ArborLift system has been used to move trees. The authorities will monitor the transplantation for two years by tracking soil conditions, moisture levels, and root regrowth. If successful, the Jolene relocation will become one of the most technically advanced in the US.