Caltrans is in the process of selecting an independent consultant to identify technology to reduce noise on Highway 85, Assemblyman Jim Cunneen announced.
This marks the first time that Caltrans has agreed to do anything about the noise generated by the freeway, despite a barrage of complaints from those who live nearby.
Highway 85 will be a test case to find high-tech solutions to the problem of freeway noise, Cunneen said. "Since Highway 85's opening in October 1994, whole neighborhoods have suffered from noise."
Saratogans formed the Freeway Noise Abatement Committee, collected some 3,000 signatures from unhappy freeway neighbors and enlisted the aid of city councils in Saratoga and Cupertino in an effort to dampen the freeway noise.
George Korbay, co-chairman of the Freeway Noise Abatement Committee, said with the support of Cunneen, state Sen. Byron Sher and city government, the committee was able to get a commitment from Caltrans to pay for a noise consultant.
The selection process for an independent consultant is expected to be completed in October. The study will cover sound-absorbing technologies and abatement measures for reflected sound, Cunneen said.
"It's great news," said Joan Hershkowitz, co-chairwoman of the Freeway Noise Abatement Committee. "They said it couldn't be done. I think they [Caltrans] learned we were not going to go away. We wake up to noise and go to sleep to noise."
Hershkowitz said that without Cunneen's effort, nothing would have happened.
Citizens may contact the Freeway Noise Abatement Committee by calling Hershkowitz, 725-0634, or Korbay, 255-6412, for more information.
This article appeared in the Saratoga News, August 14, 1996.
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