Plans for Tollway Sound Wall Hit Snag

A contractor has agreed to pay about $750,000 for a sound wall to buffer about 17 homes from noise on the San Joaquin Hills toll road, but there are complications.

First, California Corridor Constructors officials say that all 17 homeowners on Westridge Lane must give permission to allow the company access to their property to build the wall, which will be 10 to 12 feet high.

Though the neighborhood had requested the sound wall, residents say that at least two homeowners have not responded to attempts to get the whole street involved.

Without total unity, residents say, they might not succeed in having the wall built to include sections of clear plastic. That would cost more but would preserve views of hills.

With tollway construction approaching Laguna Hills, construction company representatives told the City Council this week, homeowners must decide soon whether to grant property access.

If they do not, the construction company will build a solid-block sound wall.

The council agreed to send a letter to the project developer, the Transportation Corridor Agency, supporting assignment of financial responsibility for building the wall to the tollway contractor.

The tollway will eventually be managed by the California Department of Transportation, which has said it will clean graffiti off the cement portions of the wall.

However, CCC officials said that homeowners would be responsible for repairing any vandalism to the clear plastic sections and would have to apply for an encroachment permit from Caltrans before undertaking any cleanup work.