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Noise will be cut on I-75 in Miami County

ODOT will use diamond grinding to reduce noise, but still let rain water run off the highway.

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By Katherine Ullmer, Staff Writer 3:37 PM Wednesday, November 11, 2009

TROY — The Ohio Department of Transportation has announced a $975,000 project to reduce noise along a six-mile stretch of Interstate 75 in Miami County.

The project extends from Exit 69 at County Road 25-A in Tipp City to north of the I-75/Ohio 41 interchange in Troy. The project will begin in late summer 2010 and end in the fall. It will include all three lanes in both directions.

“This is new technology that we have not used here in District 7,” said Denise Heitkamp, spokeswoman for ODOT District 7 in Sidney.

Residents who live on the stretch of the highway have been calling about the noise made from vehicles on the concrete, she said. They recently received about 25 calls about highway noise after a concerned resident urged people to call and complain, Heitkamp said.

ODOT will use diamond grinding, a milling machine equipped with a diamond mill head, to mill the pavement parallel to the center line of the road, said Brad Lightle, District 7’s planning administrator.

When the concrete was installed, it was made rough for safety purposes and grooves were put in perpendicular to the center line to carry away rain water, he said.

ODOT has been getting complaints about highway noise since about 2000, when the concrete was put down. Some were from motorists who do not live in the area and did not like the noise when driving across the grooves. Other complaints were from residents whose neighborhoods are not protected by noise barriers.

Once the project is completed, motorists will ride on grooves parallel to the center line, which should still carry the water away, Lightle said.

“We felt we had a quality of life issue we just didn’t feel we could overlook. We struggled with this issue,” he said. “The majority of complaints were from people who couldn’t be helped with a noise wall, so we felt we had an obligation to do something.”

Ohio University studied a similar ODOT project near Cincinnati on Interstate 275, which resulted in pavement noise levels dropping significantly after diamond grinding. He said the 2010 project will be part of the OU’s ongoing study.

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I lived in westbrook before they changed the surface to concrete. When they changed the surface and put up the wall the noise increased. Big waste of money all together. The asphalt surface noise wasn't bad at all and it was kind of relaxing watching the traffic in the evenings. On other point is that there are 15-20 panels of sound barrier wall that they installed at the Troy Country Club that are actually below the road surface. Just what is that supposed to do?

John
11:27 AM, 11/25/2009

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dont waste my money on this, i drive it everyday and it is load but not worth $1,000,000 to "maybe" make it a little less load. NOPE!! The "sound" walls were a watse of $5,000,000. I have live about 100 yards from i-75 for 20 years.

gary compton
5:44 PM, 11/16/2009

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Good Question Jerry. I was wondering the same thing. I used to have a house on North Dorset in Troy. At certain times there was noise coming from the interstate especially if the windows were open. But normally it was just a matter of being used to it and can't say it really bothered me or ruined my quality of life. I think the money could be better spent than to appease a bunch of self centered whiners.

Deb
2:05 PM, 11/12/2009

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How will the water be carried away if the grooves just move down the road? Away to where? Once the grooves are full of water, which can take only seconds in a heavy rain, there's nowhere for the water to go. Expect more accidents as a result of hydroplaning on this stretch of road. It will become quiet, but deadly.

Jerry
1:39 PM, 11/12/2009

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