I probably wouldn’t have posted any of these articles individually, but seeing them written close together makes it an interesting grouping.
Sound walls to soften I-71′s nonstop roar
Saturday, March 5, 2011 02:53 AM
By Robert Vitale
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCHTake a last look past the shoulder as you drive north on I-71 – Columbus neighborhoods that have coped with freeway noise for 50 years are about to disappear behind sound walls.
The Ohio Department of Transportation will spend nearly $4.9 million by fall to lower the volume around houses east of the interstate between 5th Avenue and Cooke Road. On the southbound side, sound walls are going up between 5th and Cleveland avenues. Some of the walls have already been completed.
The local work will eat up nearly all of the $5 million the state sets aside annually for sound walls. The state automatically builds sound walls along new or expanded freeways.
When it’s all done, sound walls will line all but commercial areas on I-71 between Downtown and Polaris.
Crashes Along I-70 Spilling Into Backyard, Couple Says
Sunday, March 6, 2011 10:35 PM
WBNS-10TVCOLUMBUS, Ohio — A Columbus couple is worried that someone will be seriously injured or killed after multiple highway crashes have spilled onto their property.
Michael and Sherry Boyd’s home sits right below Interstate 70 near the Main Street exit, 10TV’s Glenn McEntyre reported on Sunday.
During the last six months, nine crashes have occurred at the top of the hill by their home.
The latest crash happened on Saturday morning, when the cab of a tractor-trailer truck broke away from the trailer, rolled down the hill, and ended up into the Boyd’s backyard.
Some think Olentangy Trail needs protection from Rt. 315
Monday, March 7, 2011 02:51 AM
By Dean Narciso
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCHIf the whoosh of cars and trucks isn’t warning enough, the mixture of old, new and broken chain-link fence along the Olentangy Trail should be a sign of caution for the runners, stroller-pushers and cyclists on Franklin County’s most-popular multiuse trail.
The repairs – and some gaping holes – are the result of motorists who lost control of their vehicles and plowed through the fence separating the trail from Rt. 315.
On Feb. 26, a Jeep Wrangler gradually veered off the northbound lanes of Rt. 315 and down a grassy slope, breaking through the fence and crossing the path before striking a tree just feet from the Olentangy River.
Yeah, pretty obvious, but well worth pointing out.