Concerns over traffic noise on new Gilcrease Extension

The Gilcrease Extension, west of Highway 75 to the Tisdale Expressway is trucking right along.<br><br>But some area residents are sounding off about the noise the new highway will bring. Twelve-year resident,

Thursday, May 9th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

The Gilcrease Extension, west of Highway 75 to the Tisdale Expressway is trucking right along.

But some area residents are sounding off about the noise the new highway will bring. Twelve-year resident, Harold Robinson's leading the call for a sound barrier wall along the new Gilcrease extension. " We are not in opposition to the road, we are in opposition to the problem the road is causing in the community."

With the new highway coming in alongside and right in front of his house -- he thinks traffic noise will be a big problem. He points to other sound walls in the city and says he wants the same for his community. Sound walls are going up on other projects like the expansion of I-44 at Yale.

But city officials say in these cases the noise from the roadways is expected to be above 67 decibels which is not the case on Gilcrease. Paul Zachary, Deputy Dir. of Engineering Services for the City of Tulsa: "And what this program was funded for was roadway, storm sewers and the associated utility. But there was never in funding for sound because they didn't pass that federal warrant or that test to have to have it."

Harold Robinson and his neighbors say they're not giving up. "We can have a say so in what happens here, act like we don't exist."