Construction of sound barrier on I-83 in Sparks begins
Wall to resemble Butler stone
By Pat van den Beemt
pvdb@comcast.net
Posted 6/30/09
It’s been 10 years since residents of Bellclare Circle, Priceville Road and Priceville Avenue in Sparks sent a petition to the State Highway Administration asking for a sound barrier to diminish the drone from traffic on Interstate 83.
Their wait is over. Construction on the wall sound barrier started last week.
On June 25, work crews set up a line of concrete barriers along southbound I-83, south of Belfast Road. Construction of a sound wall that will look like it is made of Butler stone is being done behind the barriers.
There should be limited lane closures on I-83, said SHA spokesman Charlie Gischlar.
“Everybody’s pretty excited it’s finally happening,” said Don Maher, who lives on Priceville Avenue. “We were concerned the wall might not be built with the economy and budget cuts. Sure, we’ll have construction noise, but it will all be worth it when it’s done.”
A series of sound-level measurements taken in 1999 showed noise levels above the threshold of 66 decibels, with 74 decibels being the highest reading, according to the report.
A whisper is measured at 30 decibels; conversation at 60; a vacuum cleaner at 70; a lawnmower at 90 and a chain saw at 100 decibels, according to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Web site.
The goal is to reduce the noise level by 10 decibels, which would cut the noise level in half, said Jim Hade, landscape architect with the highway administration, at a January 2006 public meeting.
The neighborhood was eligible for relief because the houses predate 1962, the year I-83 became a road system. The wall will directly benefit 13 houses and all homeowners agreed to have it built.
The 17-foot high wall will be 1,716 feet long and will cost $2 million, Gischlar said. The price includes significant drainage improvements, he added.
Baltimore County is paying for 20 percent of the cost. The wall is expected to be completed by late fall or early winter. Landscaping will be done next spring.
“We have an unprecedented amount of planting going in,” Gischlar said. “We’re using a lot of native species.”
The unique look of the wall and the extra landscaping are the result of many meetings organized by Del. Wade Kach, who represents the area in the House of Delegates. Kach supported the wall, but only if it was redesigned to fit into the rural landscape. He told the SHA he did not want it to look like the ones further south on I-83 or the Beltway.
While the affected Sparks residents were in favor of the wall, the Sparks-Glencoe community group opposed it, saying wall didn’t belong in the rural area and would ruin the scenic views along I-83 in Sparks.
“We’re not surprised to see it going forward, but we’re still disappointed,” said Kirsten Berger, president of the Sparks-Glencoe group. “It will make the area less rural and more urban, but at least the wall will look better than the one they would have put up without everybody’s input.”
Their wait is over. Construction on the wall sound barrier started last week.
On June 25, work crews set up a line of concrete barriers along southbound I-83, south of Belfast Road. Construction of a sound wall that will look like it is made of Butler stone is being done behind the barriers.
There should be limited lane closures on I-83, said SHA spokesman Charlie Gischlar.
“Everybody’s pretty excited it’s finally happening,” said Don Maher, who lives on Priceville Avenue. “We were concerned the wall might not be built with the economy and budget cuts. Sure, we’ll have construction noise, but it will all be worth it when it’s done.”
A series of sound-level measurements taken in 1999 showed noise levels above the threshold of 66 decibels, with 74 decibels being the highest reading, according to the report.
A whisper is measured at 30 decibels; conversation at 60; a vacuum cleaner at 70; a lawnmower at 90 and a chain saw at 100 decibels, according to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Web site.
The goal is to reduce the noise level by 10 decibels, which would cut the noise level in half, said Jim Hade, landscape architect with the highway administration, at a January 2006 public meeting.
The neighborhood was eligible for relief because the houses predate 1962, the year I-83 became a road system. The wall will directly benefit 13 houses and all homeowners agreed to have it built.
The 17-foot high wall will be 1,716 feet long and will cost $2 million, Gischlar said. The price includes significant drainage improvements, he added.
Baltimore County is paying for 20 percent of the cost. The wall is expected to be completed by late fall or early winter. Landscaping will be done next spring.
“We have an unprecedented amount of planting going in,” Gischlar said. “We’re using a lot of native species.”
The unique look of the wall and the extra landscaping are the result of many meetings organized by Del. Wade Kach, who represents the area in the House of Delegates. Kach supported the wall, but only if it was redesigned to fit into the rural landscape. He told the SHA he did not want it to look like the ones further south on I-83 or the Beltway.
While the affected Sparks residents were in favor of the wall, the Sparks-Glencoe community group opposed it, saying wall didn’t belong in the rural area and would ruin the scenic views along I-83 in Sparks.
“We’re not surprised to see it going forward, but we’re still disappointed,” said Kirsten Berger, president of the Sparks-Glencoe group. “It will make the area less rural and more urban, but at least the wall will look better than the one they would have put up without everybody’s input.”
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