Highway sound walls make ODOT a better neighbor.

From ODOT-  Sound walls constructed as part of highway improvement projects are built to reduce traffic noise into neighborhoods.  That's why you see sound walls along parts of Interstate 5, I-105 and the Randy Pape' Beltline Highway in the Eugene-Springfield area.



Our sound wall contractor for the I-5 Willamette River Bridge replacement, Victory Builders, just completed the project's second sound wall.  Its location, northeast of the new northbound bridge under construction, was established by the project Environmental Assessment back in 2007.  Noise impact specialists took sound readings in adjacent neighborhoods to determine the exact size and type of sound wall needed to meet ODOT standards for noise reduction.

Like its southern counterpart, the new sound wall located northeast of the bridges uses colored concrete blocks designed to represent a sound wave as it travels from the foothills to the valley floor.



Late spring and early summer was the ideal time to build the wall because of good weather and minimal roadwork near the site.  The new sound wall is 724 feet long and 16 feet tall.  The sound wall is made of concrete masonry block mortared on a concrete foundation.  The blocks are all the same size, but consist of different colors to create a pattern blending with the surrounding area.

Native plants installed east of the sound wall will help it blend better into the roadside landscape within a few years.