LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — The Nevada Department of Transportation is upgrading sound walls along Interstate 11 to reduce traffic noise for residents living near the busy freeway.
The project that started last May calls for either the full replacement of existing sound walls that date back 40 years, or upgrading existing sound walls between Boulder Highway and Flamingo Road along the I-11 freeway on the east side of the valley.
“It does create that acoustic barrier to the interstate traffic,” said Kelsey McFarland of NDOT. “They do live very close to the interstate so anything we can do to improve and upgrade those sound walls to improve the quality of life for the neighborhood.”
Neighbors that live adjacent to the noisy freeway are grateful for NDOT’s efforts to reduce freeway traffic noise.
Construction challenges and timeline
“A lot of these folks were working right in their backyard so it’s been very involved just having conversations with the people who live along these walls about what we’re doing how it benefits them and they’ve been extremely patient with us through the course of construction,” McFarland said.
The construction continues to cause right lane restrictions along both sides of I-11 between Flamingo and Boulder Highway, clogging up traffic at times during peak commute hours. While NDOT hopes to have all lanes restored by May, the project will take a full year to complete.
“This has been a really complex work zone,” McFarland said. “It’s a narrow space with live interstate traffic on one side, residential neighborhoods and backyards on the other side and a steep slope in between so it’s been very complex for the engineers just kind of workshopping how to do this and how to build brand new walls.”
The sound wall upgrade project along I-11 will wrap up by the end of May.
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