Sound Barrier Letter

Maryland Department of Transportation
State Highway Administration

February 21, 2002

Mr. Evan Belaga
3 Steffens Point Heights
Annapolis MD 21401-2264

Dear Mr. Belaga,

This letter is a follow-up to our recent telephone conversation regarding a sound barrier for the Admiral Heights community along eastbound US 50 near Worden Court, Halsey Road, Bristol and Williams Drives in Anne Arundel County. I appreciate the opportunity to respond to your inquiry.

The State Highway Administration will perform a technical re-evaluation of the Admiral Heights community near the streets named above, based on the most recent widening of US 50 near the community. However, because of the recent detailed analyses for the Kirkley Road community, that area will not be part of this re-evaluation. We have performed numerous evaluations of this area to determine its eligibility for a sound barrier. These evaluations have confirmed that only one home is experiencing noise levels at or above our impact threshold of 66 decibels. This is primarily due to the relocation of the mainline of the highway away from the community when US 50 was reconstructed. A sound barrier to reduce noise levels at this one home would greatly exceed our maximum cost per residence of $50,000. It is for these reasons that the Kirkley Road Creek community along US 50 is not eligible for our sound barrier program. One of our consultants will be contacting you and other nearby residents shortly to coordinate the taking of noise level measurements. We will be happy to discuss the results with you after they have been compiled.

Thank you for your telephone call and interest in the State's sound barrier program. If you have additional questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact Mr. James Hade, our Noise Abatement Team Leader, at 410-545-8599 or 1-800-446-5962 or, by e-mail, at jhade@sha.state.md.us He will be happy to assist you.

Very truly yours,

Neil J. Pedersen
Deputy Administrator for Planning and Engineering

Mailing Address: P.O. Box 717, Baltimore, MD 21203-0717