Trees cut down to make way for space shuttle Endeavour during its journey on Los Angeles streets to the California Science Center are returning to stretches along the shuttle's route.
More than 400 trees were removed to provide clearance for the retired orbiter when it moved from a hangar at Los Angeles International Airport in October to a temporary home at the Science Center in Exposition Park. Trees are being replanted in Inglewood, Westchester and other areas along the route.
The decision to remove the trees raised questions in communities along the route. The shuttle -- it has a wingspan of 78 feet -- traveled north from LAX, east on Manchester Avenue, north on Crenshaw Boulevard before heading east on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
The Science Center paid approximately $2 million to plant about 1,000 10- to 14-foot high trees.
Work in Inglewood is expected to be complete in about one week. Remaining areas should be replanted within a month.
As for the shuttle, it has been on display in its temporary location at the Samuel Oschin Pavilion. The shuttle will be relocated to a new Science Center addition called the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center.
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