A large fallen tree limb that had blocked a city street for 10 days was cut up and cleared Thursday, to the relief of nearby residents.

The limb split off from a tree behind the home at 1001 Speed St. on April 3, fell across Lake Street and came to rest partly on the corrugated metal roof of the home at 2326 Lake St.

Cutting and cleanup crews were out early Thursday morning.

“I am happy it’s cleared,” said Janice Harden, a Lake Street resident. “Nobody had told us anything and it had been over a week that it was there. We just wanted to know what was going on.”

City landscaping head Jeff Richardson said delays in removing the limb, part of an elm or hackberry tree, resulted mostly from difficulties locating the property owner of the Lake Street home to get permission in case it was necessary to access the house.

“There was inconvenience and we are sorry about that,” Richardson said. “But no one was blocked in and the way the limb had fallen, we couldn’t just clear it away without making sure we didn’t damage the property.”

Richardson said quotes were obtained from tree companies to cut the limb off the house, and once the job was contracted the company’s bucket truck broke down.

While Lake Street was blocked, some homes were accessible from Speed Street, the others from Harris Street.

Harden said her 14-year-old son had to walk around to his Speed Street school bus stop via Harris and Letitia, and nearby street lights were dark, though homes had electricity.

One utility pole that had snapped in the storm lay across the driveway of Marcus Lovette, 40, another Lake Street resident. Phone and cable wires lay on the ground, but no live electrical wires.

A cable company workman on site Thursday waited while the tree section was cleared to splice new cable wiring in and remove the old.

“This is ridiculous,” Lovett said. “Almost two weeks with all this hanging down and no one would do anything about it. I guess they finally got together and figured out what to do.”

Richardson said Arbor Works of Vicksburg was contracted to do the cutting at a cost of $500 to $600. Two quotes were obtained, he said.