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MADERA COUNTY, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) - A California landmark is connected the determination aft astir 100 years.
That landmark, the Palm and the Pine, 2 trees that unofficially people wherever Southern California meets Northern California, is located presently close disconnected Highway 99 successful Madera County.
It's 1 that practically anyone traveling done the region, whether they're from LA, the Bay Area, oregon those surviving successful the Central Valley, has passed by, whether they've known it oregon not.
A landmark with a wide of meaning to respective wrong Madera and Madera County.
"I person household members travel sojourn and I'm ever the archetypal 1 to beryllium like, 'Ay, you know, that represents bluish and confederate California," said Christopher Arias, caput manager astatine Madera Martial Arts.
As Arias welcomed YourCentralValley.com into the gym to speech astir the meaning of the 2 trees, their secondary logo, which shows them, could beryllium seen each around.
He says the trees are astatine the halfway of what helium and his squad are each about.
"My fighters deterioration this connected their logos, connected their shorts erstwhile they fight," Arias said.
He adjacent has a tattoo of the 2 trees.
"It's a consciousness of pridefulness for a batch of Maderans."
However, dissimilar his tattoo, not everything is permanent.
Last year, Caltrans announced it would person to region the trees to widen the 99 to 3 lanes connected each side.
When Madera Community College precocious asked if the trees could beryllium moved to its campus, the nationalist began to instrumentality notice, and ultimately, aft outcry to Caltrans, they announced they would not region them, but alternatively determination them, not acold from their existent home.
"We person to shorten the halfway median and that's wherever the trees are located. So, what we're going to bash is we're going to relocate them," said Public Information Officer Larry Johnson for Caltrans District 6. "They're going to beryllium conscionable westbound of the freeway. So, if you're heading southbound, they're going to beryllium disconnected to your right."
Johnson says, successful summation to the 2 archetypal trees moving, 15 caller palms volition beryllium planted with them to the south, successful summation to 15 caller 'pines', oregon cedar trees, to beryllium exact, to the north.
It's each successful a tribute to the past of the landmark.
One Madera County supervisor says it's a win-win for everyone.
"It's going to prevention lives, help traffic determination through, but again, it shows respect to our community, arsenic acold arsenic redeeming those trees. It's precise symbolic," said Robert Poythress, who represents District 3.
As of now, Caltrans says determination are nary plans to marque the trees a roadside attraction with a dedicated pull-off, oregon adjacent a spot for travelers to halt and instrumentality pictures safely.
However, galore successful the region, including Madera Community College leadership, accidental it could beryllium precisely what is needed to not lone item the past surrounding the "Center of California," but besides to bring successful tourism to the area.
In an email, Madera Community College's Director of Marketing & Communications Cory Burkarth told YourCentralValley.com, "This is simply a erstwhile successful a beingness opportunity for our assemblage to deliberation astir ways to crook these trees into an attraction that volition springiness motorists a crushed for to stop, see, and bask them, portion besides spending immoderate wealth to enactment our section community."
Construction is planned to statesman connected the conception of Highway 99 from Avenue 7 to Avenue 12, starting successful 2026.
