Dovilla Asks for Action on Turnpike Noise Walls

State Rep. Mike Dovilla (R-Berea) is urging the Ohio Turnpike Commission to take long-awaited steps to muffle noise from the toll road.

Dovilla points to a study done in 2009 that lays out what type of wall should be erected along the turnpike as it runs through Strongsville and nearby communities, including Berea, North Royalton, Omsted Falls and Olmsted Township.

“Several neighborhoods throughout the 18^th House District are subjected to constant noise and vibration after the construction of two additional lanes with no consideration of noise barriers,” Dovilla said in a news release. 

Dovilla sent a letter Jan. 18 to Richard Hodges, Executive Director of the Ohio Turnpike Commission, asking him to take action on noise mitigation.

“I urge the Ohio Turnpike Commission take immediate action to place appropriate signage banning the use of the ‘Jake brake,’ along the suburban corridors,” stated Dovilla.  “In addition, I request that in the next budget cycle, a line item dedicated to the construction of noise barriers be approved.”

In the letter to Hodges, Dovilla said the addition of a third lane to the turnpike has aided the state's trucking industry, but the concrete wall in what used to be a grassy metian "today serves as a noise reflector" that impacts quality of life for adjacent residents, leaving them "subjected to persistent noise and vibration" and potentially lowerig their home values.

The November 2009 TranSystems report to the OTC detailed the results of two noise barrier pilot projects in noise sensitive areas, a “T”-Top concrete noise barrier wall along the perimeter of the road in Berea near Sprague Road, and median-mounted acoustic panels near West 130th Street, the Strongsville-North Royalton municipal boundary. 

"It is my understanding that the “T”-Top walls proved a 'cost-effective and viable option for future noise mitigation.  Yet, this solution has not been implemented beyond the testing phase, which was concluded over two years ago," Dovilla wrote.

He asks the Turnpike Commission to include the walls in its next budget.

He also asks the commission to immediately put up signs banning use an engine brake, commonly called a "Jake brake," which some local communities already prohibit, to remind truck drivers to comply.