Council awards $1.5M design contract for 210 Freeway overpass sound walls
Noise-weary residents living near the Foothill (210) Freeway Hampton Road overpass are one step closer to an auditory reprieve, after the city awarded a $1.54-million contract to an engineering firm to design an uncommon set of “bridge” sound walls.
La Cañada Flintridge City Council members Monday agreed to hire South Carolina-based Ardurra Group, Inc. to prepare an environmental report and other documents necessary to begin the design and construction of sound walls designated S335 and S336, along with a third, S311, east of Alta Canyada Road.
A group of neighbors near Hampton Road petitioned city officials to prioritize the construction of sound walls in an area where the constant drone of freeway traffic reverberates into their yards and homes. Some of them attended Monday’s meeting, asking for expediency in the matter.
“I’ve lived in this city for over 40 years now, and we’ve been waiting for this sound wall for over 40 years,” said Nancy Way resident Peggy Easter. “We want to move forward with this.”
The location of the wall segments were identified by a city subcommittee in December 2018, in part, for the high number of sensitive receptors living nearby. S335 would run 1,570 feet long on the east side of the 210 Freeway, while S336 would span 2,340 feet on the westbound side.
The estimated cost of building those two segments is about $8.7 million — a daunting figure made doable by $12 million in transportation-related funding secured by state Sen. Anthony Portantino (D-La Cañada Flintridge) in 2018.
The contract with Adurra Group, Inc. approved by the council Monday is for $1,540,246 and includes a contingency of $59,754 and an additional $54,400 for support during construction, for a not-to-exceed amount of $1.654 million.
La Cañada Public Works Director Pat DeChellis estimated the firm is anticipated to complete its documentation by March 2021. With everything on track, construction could begin as soon as fall of 2021 and would take up to 18 months.
City officials anticipate construction could potentially be completed sometime in spring of 2023.
San Juan Way resident Ken Hudnut, who’s made repeated appearances before the council alongside wife Dana Coyle, requested officials keep neighbors apprised of any potential setbacks as plans move ahead.
“We’re just trying to be good representatives of the people,” Hudnut said. “Until the sound wall is built, we’re going to be showing up to represent that group of people. But we need to understand the process as we go.”
Mayor Pro Tem Greg Brown promised the city was moving as fast as it could with the project.
“There are hoops that have to be jumped through — environmental clearances and those types of things,” Brown said. “[But] that is a top priority, and it’s moving forward as fast as the wheels can make it happen.”
