Contractors for the state Department of Transportation are felling trees within 30 feet of Interstate 95 northbound from Stonington to North Stonington, part of a statewide effort to catch up with needed roadside clearing that began after Hurricane Irene in 2011.

Kevin Nursick, spokesman for the DOT, said Tuesday that the work began in December and resumed March 23 after a winter break. While the work has left large logs near the highway shoulder for a day or more until the wood chippers can turn them into mulch, people shouldn’t assume the logs are there for the taking, he said.

“Do people take it? No question they do,” he said. “But it is not legal. The wood is state property, and stopping on the highway is a safety problem. You aren’t supposed to stop on a highway unless it’s an emergency.”

Trooper Kelly Grant, spokeswoman for the state police, said that if police see someone taking wood, they will inform them that the activity is illegal and usually issue a verbal warning.

“We discourage improper stopping, because it’s dangerous,” she said.

Nursick said the eight-mile stretch of I-95 is being cleared using feller-buncher equipment that clasps and saws as many as 300 trees per day.

“We can do in one day what it used to take us three months to do,” he said. “The chipper is about a mile behind.”

DOT is paying the contractor about $6,000 per day for the services of both the feller-buncher and chipper equipment, he added.

The work will continue between Exits 91 and 93, near the Rhode Island border, for the next two weeks, Nursick said. Crews begin just after the morning rush hour, and right lane closures are sometimes necessary.

j.benson@theday.com

Twitter: @BensonJudy