CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Charlotte city leaders tried, but they're losing their battle to save a line of century-old trees in east Charlotte.

The city's head arborist calls them a treasure. Now they're all being cut down to make way for an extra lane on Albemarle Road.

Eight old oaks in total will be chopped down along the road between Independence Boulevard and Sharon Amity Road. Some are gone all ready – cut down in their prime to make traffic a little more bearable.

City arborist Don McSween couldn't be more disappointed.

“This is the nicest line of trees along through this whole section of Albemarle Road,” he said.

Because of that, McSween has been scrambling to save the trees -- huge pin oaks he says are exactly what make the city special. He didn’t even know they were in danger until two weeks ago.

He urged the city's transportation director to send an e-mail to the state department of transportation, pleading for a way to keep the trees.

Earlier this week Ron Graham, who oversees the project, said he'd try.

“The trees will be so close to the road. We're looking at if the trees could survive from the construction,” he said.

But the biggest problem isn’t the survival of the trees, but the survival of drivers. Adding a lane on Albemarle Road would put the curb just a step away from the big tree trunks, and that would mean cars and drivers, too, would be just a few feet away.

“If they have to swerve and hit a curb and a tree is right there -- that could be real dangerous,” Graham said.

So, early Friday the trees began to topple. And while Don McSween understands the safety issues, he wishes road designs could have changed enough to save them.

“Every tree we lose along our streets is that much less shade we have, that much less quality of the environment we have in our city,” he said.

The city's arborist says he hopes he'll be included in design discussions earlier when trees are at risk. Officials with the state say they will replant trees, but it'll take a long time for them to get as big as the ones being cut down.