The state Department of Transportation will plant monkey pod, crepe myrtle and native kou trees along H-2 Freeway later this year in place of dozens of albizzia trees it removed this summer.

More than 70 non-native albizzia trees along H-2 Freeway have been removed or pruned by the state since June. The Transportation Department has said the albizzias posed a safety threat for drivers and that they would be replaced with sturdier trees.

But the action prompted more than 100 complaints to the department and The Outdoor Circle, which questioned whether all the trees were dangerous. The department suspended the tree-removal project until officials met with The Outdoor Circle.

Arborists with The Outdoor Circle and the department surveyed the remaining trees this month and determined that 12 need to be removed and 40 need pruning.

The department plans to plant nearly 40 new trees in October or November along H-2, from the Pineapple Road overpass bridge to the Mililani Mauka exit, said department spokesman Scott Ishikawa.

He said even though monkey pods are not native, they were chosen because they appear to "have the best chance surviving against albizzias, which are invasive and very aggressive."

The Outdoor Circle has met with the department and approves the replanting plan, said Bob Loy, The Outdoor Circle's director of environmental programs.

The Outdoor Circle "greatly appreciates that (the state) consulted with us before moving forward," he said.

"We believe these plans will help restore the beauty of the H-2 Freeway, which was so devastated by this summer's tree removals," he said.

Ishikawa said albizzia will continue to be a "problem tree" because it's soft and grows about 15 feet a year, so the department may in the future gradually replace the existing albizzia on H-2 Freeway with sturdier trees. He said the department will notify The Outdoor Circle of any such action.

"We understand the issue of aesthetics, but I think both sides understand the issue of safety as well," Ishikawa said.

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Reach Lynda Arakawa at larakawa@honoluluadvertiser.com.