Freeway noise issues

Interstate 5 and its interchange with SR-520 (opened in 1962) destroyed or compartmentalized treasured parts of the Eastlake neighborhood. And as environmental laws didn’t exist then, these freeways were built in a way that produces much higher noise levels than would be allowed for freeway construction today. As a result, some Eastlake businesses, residences, streets, and parks have freeway noise levels exceeded by no other location in the state.

From its founding in 1971, the Eastlake Community Council began working with a long succession of Washington State Dept. of Transportation officials and 43rd district legislators toward placing this problem high on WSDOT’s priority list, and getting the funds through the legislature to retrofit this section of I-5 for noise reduction. Eastlake’s first segment of noise walls, on Boylston Ave. between Newton St. and E. Edgar Street, were planned and designed with extensive public involvement including a series of public meetings and workshops. Unfortunately their construction was delayed for years by a 1999 statewide initiative and public vote that lowered the price of car tab fees. This initial segment of noise walls was finally completed in 2005. But for years after, WSDOT had no priority or plans for completing continuing the noise walls north of Edgar Street to the Ship Canal Bridg, despite this noise wall gap having previously been among its highest funding priorities for noise reduction.

I-5/SB East Edgar St to East Gwinn Place Noise Wall

In 2012 and 2013, the Eastlake Community Council sponsored public meetings about noise issues with state legislators and WSDOT; ECC also wrote to these officials and encouraged others to do so. In response, our 43rd district state legislators on Oct. 24, 2013 wrote to the Washington State Department of Transportation, urging resumption of the noise walls effort and the consideration of traffic operations changes on the bridge if structural noise-reduction measures prove infeasible. To see their letter, click here. Susbsequently, ECC wrote a Feb. 12, 2014 letter to WSDOT and a Feb. 14 e-mail to our legislators.

In short, the noise walls built so far have dramatically reduced noise, but they don’t extend north even to Hamlin Street. Citing a fragile City water main and the need for electrical ventilation, WSDOT had dropped the noise wall extension far down on its priority list, with no funding requested or received for years. ECC would not take no for an answer, and our 43rd district legislators and WSDOT listened. With Sen. Jamie Pedersen taking the lead, they turned this situation around in 2014, as can be seen by clicking on the following e-mail exchange and WSDOT study.

WSDOT has now found noise wall technology that won’t harm the water main or require ventilation. The long-delayed completion of the noise walls for the two blocks on the west side of I-5 north to Allison Street became a priority of WSDOT and Governor Jay Inslee, with an estimated cost of $3.5 million. Sen. Jamie Pedersen and his House colleagues then succeeded in passing through the legislature the needed $3.5 million. They (especially Sen. Pedersen), the Governor, and WSDOT deserve the neighborhood’s deep gratitude.

After the state legislature had allowed car tab fees to increase again, another statewide initiative and public vote, this one in 2019, again lowered the car tab fees to $20. It remains to be seen whether the 2019 initiative result will cause further delays in the completion of Eastlake’s freeway noise walls.

The neighborhood appreciates very much that Sen Pedersen is working to ensure that Eastlake’s noise walls are completed. Earlier versions of this section made it clear that success of the project will also require that WSDOT engage in early and continuous public involvement in its planning and design of the noise walls.” Unfortunately, WSDOT’s planning and design of the I-5/SB East Edgar Street to East Gwinn Place Noise Wall segment has had none of the public notice, comment, and involvement that accompanied its planning of the initial walls between Newton and Edgar Streets.

As can be seen in the photos, the entire length of this site is lined with large trees and indeed with several entire groves of trees. If not planned and constructed carefully, the noise walls could unnecessarily destroy dozens of large and strategically located trees. These trees provide the Eastlake neighborhood important filtering against air pollution from the freeway. They also provide visual screening which, once the noise walls are installed, will help soften the appearance of the bare concrete walls.

To the greatest extent possible, this remaining noise wall project must protect the trees at this site so that they can continue to filter freeway pollution and to provide shade, heat-reduction, wildlife habitat, beauty, and recreation. Much to WSDOT’s credit, some of the largest trees are in a charming parklike setting which WSDOT has maintained well for decades. These parklike areas, in which large trees are the most prominent feature, will be much more frequently enjoyed by the public once the new noise walls have reduced the noise which now discourages recreational use. It would be a huge setback if many of these trees were to be removed, or if their survival were jeopardized by construction vehicles damaging their roots.

The previous noise walls that WSDOT built along Boylston Avenue East abutted City sidewalks and streets, and did not threaten any large trees; yet WSDOT’s noise wall planning was the product of many public meetings, community workshops, and public comment periods. Construction of the remaining noise wall segment between E. Edgar St. and E. Gwinn Place is in a far more sensitive area environmentally which (to say the least) requires greater public outreach and engagement, and careful and public environmental assessment.

But so far as I know (and I welcome any specific corrections), none of the needed public outreach such as occurred with the previous segments has been initiated yet in the planning for this new segment. I am not even clear whether environmental assessment(s) have been done or whether the community was notified about the opportunity for input and comment; please send me any environmental assessments that exist, and any notices (if any) that were sent out previously, because I have seen none.

Some smaller trees will need to be removed to make room for the noise walls and for the construction vehicles and staging. But with proper planning, no large trees should have to be removed. Because there has been, so far as I know, zero outreach to the public about WSDOT’s plans for the site, or any public process for environmental assessment, I fear that WSDOT’s site/engineering/construction plans may remove or damage far more trees than needed.

I urge that WSDOT not issue the bid package at this time. Before finalizing any plans to remove large trees along this right of way, WSDOT should conduct public meetings and other outreach with the community in order to build consensus regarding which trees are to be kept and which removed. At the very least, WSDOT owes it to the community to provide timely and full information NOW about what it is planning, and a meaningful opportunity to comment, with a real chance of affecting the result, BEFORE it issues bid documents that cannot be realistically be changed afterwards!

Completing the noise walls will, unfortunately, not address noise from the I-5 Ship Canal Bridge. The noise from the bridge is particularly intense because the top deck, which holds the general purpose lanes is wider than the lower deck, which holds the express lanes. Thus the underside of the top reflects the noise from the express lanes down into the neighborhood. And reducing this bridge noise is particularly difficult because tge bridge cannot support the weight of heavy most noise-reduction measures; and even lightweight noise reduction baffles could, if not carefully designed, pose a risk of catching the wind and placing unacceptable stress on the bridge. Extra weight and wind pose the risk of catastrophic failure of the entire bridge. damage. As discussed in the Spring 2014 issue of the Eastlake News if there really is not an engineering solution to the bridge noise, then a major piece of unfinished business is for the state to address operational changes in the I-5 express lanes to reduce noise. Also, WSDOT with the failure of its 2009 test of noise insulation on the I-5 Ship Canal bridge has still (14 years later) not yet developed a backup plan for addressing this noise from the bridge and its approaches.