From ODOT- I imagine that those who live in the Laurel Hill Valley Neighborhood appreciate that our sound wall construction is nearly complete.

Some of you may have noticed that the side facing the neighborhood is enhanced with sculptured concrete representing local geologic forms. Vegetation will be planted later in the areas not covered by this architectural treatment.

The sculpted concrete design was chosen by the Laurel Hill Valley Neighborhood last year. Throughout the input process, it was explained that the sculpted design elements would be used as accents at intermittent points, instead of along the entire wall.

The amount of wall that would ultimately be covered by the sculpted concrete design was determined as the overall project budget was refined. As stewards of the public funds, it was important for us to make a fiscally responsible decision. That is why we placed the design treatment on the most highly visible areas of the new sound wall that will not be covered by vegetation. Information provided to the public included renderings of this design that evolved over time as we learned more about the resources available to us.

The patience of the nearby residents with the noise and disruptions during construction made finishing the job easier. This wall is designed to reduce the overall noise levels we expect from projected increases in traffic on I-5 over the next 20 years.

All that remains is straw mulching the soil for the winter and installing plants that will eventually grow onto the sound wall and cover the slopes of the retaining wall.

Over time, the growing vegetation will blend with the sculptured elements to create a look that I think will nicely complement the wall.

(Picture of the wall today and rendering of the wall as it will look once vegetation grows in.)