Neighbors Worried About Highway Noise

They're improving the road.  But, it's not good for the houses nearby.  Residents who live near I-44 want to make their voices heard about the project.  But, The News On 6's Steve Berg reports it's not always easy.

When some houses were taken out this week, crews removed a very important sound barrier between the highway and the houses across the street.

Things look a lot different now on 49th Place.  But, it's the sound that really bothers Leslie Westfall.

"It's loud.  Before long, we will have not a thing between us and the highway," said Leslie Westfall.

Westfall and her neighbors are now in the houses closest to the highway.  They're starting a petition drive to get a sound wall put in.  Other neighborhoods near highways have gotten them, but Westfall says they haven't been told anything for sure.

"We don't know if it's going to be a sound fence or a high fence.  It's not even on the record as to what they're going to do," said Leslie Westfall.

ODOT says it's currently doing a noise study, and based on that, they'll decide whether the neighborhood will get a sound wall.  Even if they do get one, Westfall says she was told it will take up to a year before it's built.

"We've had neighborhood meetings with the Oklahoma Department of Transportation and in the city, and I don't know why someone hasn't made a decision quickly on when and where they're going to put the sound wall," said Leslie Westfall.  "A year is not acceptable to me."