Saratoga, California Since 1955
News
|
Test to improve Highway 85 noise level could lead to relief for everyone VTA to hold informational meeting July 18 By Kate Carter Saratogans along Highway 85 from Prospect Road to about a mile south can expect to hear some new noises along the thoroughfare later this year. But the noise from that project will eventually lead to a quieter environment for area residents, if all goes well. The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) plans to begin a test noise reduction project on the highway in upcoming months, following a community meeting on the subject that is currently scheduled for July 18. If the test project of grinding down the grooves on the concrete road effectively reduces traffic noise, then the same process will be applied to all of Highway 85 from Interstate 280 to Highway 87. The test project could take about two months and be completed this fall, said Jeff Funk, the VTA's deputy director of highways. The project over the whole mitigation area could be completed in late 2004 and is projected to cost $9.3 million of the county's 1996 Measure B sales tax for transportation fund. The highway, which opened in October 1994, has been a source of irritation with nearby residents in Saratoga, Cupertino and San Jose, for whom the traffic noise came as a surprise. However, Funk said that the noise level was actually within Caltrans' expectations of the road before it was built. "The dilemma is that this was a pristine environment before the highway was built," he said. "The noise is a lot louder than it was before. The community felt that this isn't at all what it thought it would be like." Because of the public outcry and because a project for constructing a median along the road was completed using Caltrans money instead of using the county's Measure B money, the county added a noise mitigation program for the road to a list of projects slated to receive funding through Measure B, Funk said. The project needed - and on June 7 received - the county board of supervisors' approval to remain on the list of Measure B projects. The prospect of that approval, while likely, was more uncertain this year than in past years as the county tries to balance its upcoming budget. "The risk was probably pretty small that the board wouldn't adhere to the staff's recommendation to go forward with the project," Funk said. Since clearing that hurdle, what remains is for the VTA to conduct a test of the groove-grinding procedure it proposes to use, to ensure that the process will work. Some neighbors have felt that another procedure, of repaving the road with a rubberized or open-graded asphalt, would do the job better, Funk said. The process of mitigating Highway 85's noise dates back to a 1998 Caltrans study that resulted in a list of four alternatives for noise reduction. Only one of those solutions - resurfacing the road - was shown to be sufficiently effective or economic, but Caltrans wasn't supportive of paving over an extremely durable concrete surface, projected to last several decades, with a surface that would need regular maintenance. In addition, Funk said, the overlay could be worn down over time and noise could increase within five to seven years, necessitating its replacement. "The two are almost equivalent in cost," Funk said. "We have enough money to do either for the whole stretch one time." Instead, VTA looked into a procedure of micro-grinding, which would remove the longitudinal grooves along the road that can be the culprits in creating tire-on-road noise. Caltrans approves of the procedure because it won't reduce the road's existing durability. Funk said the procedure is often used in Sonoma County, but there have been no noise tests done on roads with longitudinal grooves. VTA will test the micro-grinding procedure on the one-mile section, which was chosen for its relative flatness so that accurate readings can be taken both near a vehicle's tires as it drives over the newly ground surface and in the environments behind the highway's sound walls, Funk said. But, as resident Cheriel Jensen said at the June 19 city council meeting, a lot of residents are "very worried about this grinding thing." Jensen asked the council if it had any information about the planned test and expressed concern about the resulting dust and debris that could clog the surrounding air. City manager Dave Anderson said that the grinding crew will use a vaccuum process to reduce the air pollution caused by the grinding. VTA will hold a meeting for the residents in the test area to explain the grinding process and answer questions, Funk said. The meeting is scheduled for July 18, from 6 to 8 p.m., at the civic center theater, 13777 Fruitvale Ave. |
Feedback, or story ideas for the Saratoga News?
(Close this Window to go back to our home page.)
Copyright © SVCN, LLC. Maintained by GoGuys, Inc.