Reconstruction of I-5 On-Ramp Affects Residents

Extending the southbound on-ramp at Lakeway Drive is causing neighborhood residents to speak out and voice their concerns.

In an effort to reduce hazards caused by increasing traffic along Interstate-5 at the on-ramp of exit 253 at Lakeway Drive, the York neighborhood is requesting that a safety and sound wall be built along with the future construction of extending the on-ramp.

Neighborhood wishes

On April 3, the York Neighborhood Association proposed eight conditions to the Bellingham City Council and Transportation Commission that they hoped would be agreed on before construction would begin.
The neighborhood’s eight conditions were outlined on a York Neighborhood Association board meeting agenda. Some of the eight conditions included, conducting research for a full-sized wall, completing a full noise evaluation, planting full-sized evergreen trees, ensuring regularly done maintenance by the Washington State Department of Transportation to their property including having graffiti removed, considering using new sound reducing materials be used, and having the city declare the southbound ramp a non-truck route.
“In the big picture, we asked them to stop the construction but we didn’t think they would stop,” said Lisa Anderson, Treasurer of the York Neighborhood Association. “We didn’t want to sit on our hands, we asked to get attention.”
Bellingham native and York resident of four years, Chris Wolf said, “Now they [the city] know what the neighborhood wants, we’ve been very vocal. But it is up to them to decide if they’ll put the safety wall up or not.”

The impact on the neighborhood

Residents near I-5 and the southbound ramp have grown accustomed to the noise created by driving cars at 70 miles per hour.
“We have lived here for 15 years now and my husband and I have become adapted to it [the noise],” Anderson said.
Other neighbors in the area feel the same. Wolf, an active gardener, said, “It is hard to be outside and enjoy your yard when it is so loud all the time.”
According to Wolf, there is a tie between her biggest concerns about this stretch of the freeway. The tie is between the noise and safety.
“It is not so much safety for myself but for others who walk on that side of the street, walking their dogs,” Wolf said. “It would be terrible for a car to fall on someone off the freeway.”
In fact, cars have rolled off the freeway and landed down the embankment. According to Wolf, witness to one of these accounts, two cars fell off the freeway in roughly a stretch of a year. The one that Wolf saw, after the fact, was a car that rolled off the freeway and landed in the ditch directly in front of Wolf’s house, in the 1100 block of Humboldt Street.

The work to be done

“The Lakeway southbound on-ramp will be lengthened 250 feet, widened over a length of 500 feet, and will be paved a distance of 985 feet,” said WSDOT Project Construction Engineer of the project, Mark Hammer.
According to Hammer, the construction of the four ramps will take place over two seasons. Construction is scheduled to start in July and run through September and then be completed after next year. The work will be done at night to help limit any impact the construction may have on traffic.
Working with the WSDOT has benefited the neighborhood. A barrier for safety will be built along the extension of the on-ramp.
According to Hammer, the barrier will be a combination of a guardrail and a concrete barrier and it will extend to the southern end of the on-ramp extension.

Not a new issue

However, there is no finished master plan or drawings of the construction. According to Hammer, the plan is still in review and is not finished yet.
The reconstruction of the I-5 on-ramps is part of the Fairhaven Master Plan by the WSDOT. According to the WSDOT website, the plan was created to recommend improvements to the interstate. “The plan includes a list of short- and long-term improvements to address safety problems, help relieve congestion and increase freight mobility through the year 2035. Improvements will be implemented as funding becomes available.” Currently, there is $14 million set aside for these projects.
The Fairhaven Master Plan and any construction done to and along I-5, affects residents in the neighborhood because the freeway runs along a good portion of the neighborhood.

Various types of walls available

According to Anderson, if construction is a mile or more long, a wall has to be built. If the construction is considered a special project, a wall may also be required. In order for it to be named a special project, a full noise analysis has to be done and then the project is ranked based on importance, determining if a wall is necessary either for safety or sound, according to Anderson. Then those projects are placed on a waiting list and wait for any available funding.
“[However,] it would be hard to build noise walls in all towns that have freeways in them,” Wolf said.
Anderson did her research, regarding different styles of walls and there are many different types available. One type she researched were Jersey barriers, created in New Jersey in the 1950s. These walls were built for longer cars but cars today are higher and larger and Jersey barriers aren’t the best choice for safety.
The second wall style is an Ontario wall, developed in Ontario and these seem to be better at stopping trucks but of course nothing is ever guaranteed, Anderson said. She also researched sound walls and nowhere did she find that they did not help prevent accidents, like it was thought to be the case by some.
Hammer said, there is a difference between safety walls and noise walls. “To put a barrier in, to stop vehicles from going over is the purpose of a safety wall,” said Hammer.

Neighborly help

One way Wolf sees this issue, is by making herself look on the other side of things. “We drive the cars on the freeway and we buy stuff at the stores, that the trucks carry,” she said.
“If I have a choice to drive or bike, I would bike because it is quieter for everyone involved,” Wolf added.
Support from surrounding neighborhoods would be much appreciated by the York neighborhood. According to Anderson, the York Neighborhood Association has asked to be invited to other neighborhood meetings, in order for York to gain some help and support from surrounding neighborhoods.
“No one looks out for a neighborhood better than neighborhoods do,” said Anderson. “We have to look out for those who are renting and those who are students,” Anderson added.

Future plans

The neighborhood has presented a request to the city and to council and would like to later file it down in Olympia, said Anderson. The neighborhood would like to have the City Council put this issue on their agenda, to be further looked at.
“I can’t see anything happening in 5-10 years but a few in the neighborhood are really dedicated to this project,” Anderson said, in regards to having a sound [safety] wall built.
No matter what measures the neighborhood attempts, it seems the road to a sound wall is long and extremely narrow.
“My ideal in a perfect world would be a sound wall is built to block the noise,” said Wolf. “But now a days, it’s so expensive.”