The sound of chainsaws started to echo along Highway 305 as crews toppled trees near downtown Winslow Monday as work began on the first segment of the Sound to Olympic Trail.

Traffic was slowed in both directions on Highway 305 south of High School Road as tree removal began early Monday morning.

One northbound lane of the highway will be shut down during the project, and the first lane closure is planned for 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day this week.

The initial work will be the removal of designated trees in the Highway 305 right-of-way between Winslow Way and Vineyard Lane.

City officials said the east shoulder of 305 will be closed at times for the loading of logging trucks.

City officials could not say how many trees will be cut down for the first segment of the trail, which will run alongside the highway from Winslow Way up to High School Road on the eastern edge of the roadway and connect with the pedestrian bridge across Ravine Creek.

“We don’t have an exact number of trees being removed for construction of the Sound to Olympic Trail,” city spokeswoman Kellie Stickney said in an email to the Review.

“The city has made significant efforts to minimize the quantity of trees that have to be removed for trail construction,” she added. “These efforts include constructing numerous walls along the project to reduce the grading area, thereby reducing the number of trees that have to removed, and working with the neighbors at Vineyard Lane to save trees of importance to their community.”

The number of trees to be cut down may be substantial, however.

Environmental review documents for the project, signed by the city’s project manager, report that hundreds of trees will be taken down. “Approximately 250 deciduous and evergreen trees that are 8-inches [diameter at breast height] or larger will be removed along the trail alignment,” according to the city’s environmental checklist.

The checklist also notes that invasive plants will be removed and new landscaping is planned.

Documents also indicate that adjacent properties will have an “increased view of the roadway” after the trees are removed. Sound impacts are not expected to measurably change on nearby properties.

Documents also note that native and ornamental trees and shrubs will be planted “to offset the removal of forested areas to the extent practical within the right of way.”

The number of new trees and shrubs to be planted is not noted.

Stickney said the city did not need permits for right-of-way construction of the new trail, as “this entire project is within the WSDOT right-of-way.”

The city’s environmental checklist for the project, though, noted that a city clearing-and-grading permit is required.

Stickney said Monday that the checklist was submitted early in the process, and city officials later learned a clearing permit was not needed.

The Sound to Olympic Trail is expected to eventually run the length of Highway 305 across Bainbridge Island and continue onward on the other side of the Agate Pass Bridge.

As part of the work on the first leg of the trail continues, the trail from Cave Avenue to the pedestrian bridge will be closed.