This red maple is growing over the right of way of a state highway. I need to prune it before the state does it for me. Our winters are mild, but maybe by the end of Dec, it will have lost its leaves and gotten cold. Will it be okay to remove the large lower limbs shown in the last pictures. They are the ones going out to the road. Can I prune it up high (5 ft) all around the tree? It has a lot of surface roots that make mowing under hard to do. Is this something common in this maple? It really is beautiful in the fall and would hate to get rid of it.