Noise barrier proposed for Route 295 North
A great wall may soon be built in Johnston.
This wall won’t be one that keeps foreigners out of town but may help keep neighborhoods adjacent to Route 295 a little bit quieter if District 1 Councilman Richard DelFino’s recent proposal is put into place.
I had mentioned a while back at one of the council meetings, as one of my requests, to explore this option,” said DelFino. “I’ve gone on three or four family vacations up north, we’ll get in the car and drive into Massachusetts and we’ll see rows and rows of these sound barrier walls along the highway.”
DelFino described the sound barrier walls as beautifully designed and hopes that a similar structure may be built along Route 295 north.
“We’re looking for a beautifully landscaped structure,” said DelFino. “As I see them going up across New England in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, why can’t we have them hear in Rhode Island?”
It’s DelFino’s opinion that, if any community in the state deserved a sound or noise barrier, it would be the area between Plainfield Pike and Scituate Avenue in Johnston.
“Because of the landfill and the noise created by trucks going to the landfill, and activity around the landfill, a super-industrial zone has been created there,” said the councilman. “There’s traffic, there’s congestion, there’s noise, and there are a whole number of issues there.”
DelFino stated that he’s begun the discussion to have the sound barrier walls constructed along the approximately mile and a half stretch of the highway. His focus is to improve the quality of life for those residents along 295 north, whose homes and backyards can easily be seen from the highway.
“What’s the feasibility of doing something like this? My goal was to begin a discussion. Is it possible? I hope so. I don’t know how feasible or possible this is, but we can’t get there until we have a discussion,” said DelFino.
DelFino states that he’s talked with the mayor and contacted the Department of Transportation, along with the town’s congressional delegation, to see what type of federal assistance the town may receive for a project like this. He said he’s also had several conversations with state representatives to make them aware of the issue and ask for assistance. DelFino said his proposal has been well received.
“It’ll affect our constituent base in a positive way,” said DelFino.
Recently, DelFino and Department of Public Works Director Arnold Vecchione met with the director of DOT, Peter Alviti, members of the department’s senior staff, along with Resource Recovery Executive Director Joe Reposa to pitch the idea of a sound wall.
“We brought together a large group of people, and let’s see what is the cost, what’s the feasibility, how do we put this plan into action and let’s research how this may be possible in District 1,” said DelFino. “People there deserve it.”
All parties are currently looking into options and are gathering information in terms of cost. According to DelFino, many years ago sound studies were done, but the environment has changed and there are approximately 1,000 trucks that visit the area surrounding the landfill on any given day.
DelFino envisions a possible concrete or wooden structure design, possibly 20 feet high or more. He also is unsure of a timetable for a turnaround of the project and understands the barrier may not be approved. But he wants to explore all options. By comparison, there is currently a privately owned wooden wall near Exit 5 of Route 295 south that was constructed by Sims Metal Management.
Charles St. Martin, Chief of Public Affairs at DOT, said the proposal was currently taken under advisement.
RIDOT staff met with Johnston officials. The discussion centered on the issues of funding, planning and construction of a wall to mitigate noise created by trucks traveling to and from businesses in the area of Scituate Avenue in Johnston,” he said. “All of these issues will require further study to determine the proper authority to implement the mitigation.”
