AGOURA HILLS : Caltrans Will Share Cost of Sound Wall

A long-awaited freeway sound wall for Canwood Street in western Agoura Hills is closer to reality, now that Caltrans has promised to fund a portion of the construction, a city official said Wednesday.

Agoura Hills City Engineer Elroy Kiepke said he has received verbal notification from Caltrans that the agency has included the project in its budget for next year.

Caltrans’ share would be about $600,000, Kiepke said. Agoura Hills would pay about $190,000.

The 16-foot-high wall will run along the north side of the Ventura Freeway between Reyes Adobe Road and the Agoura Hills-Westlake Village city line. It will be built in two sections, 1,430 feet and 710 feet, with a 400-foot opening.

Kiepke said he did not know when construction would begin.

State Department of Transportation officials said last September that construction was expected to begin this spring. The project director for Caltrans was away on vacation and could not be reached for comment.

Neighbors began lobbying the state to construct a sound wall in 1985, when a truck careened off the freeway and plowed through a chain-link fence, nearly hitting a resident. About two years ago, Caltrans put the city on a waiting list until funds became available.

The wall proposal created controversy between residents and two Canwood Street businesses who say the sound wall will make their businesses harder to see from the freeway. The business owners wanted a 500-foot opening in the wall, but the residents insisted it be limited to 350 feet. They eventually agreed on 400 feet.