Metro: 405 Project Decibel Levels Near Barrington Avenue Fall Within Standards

Ambient noise levels from the I-405 project in Brentwood vary from every neighborhood's distance just west of the freeway, and noise reaching Barrington Avenue near Sunset Boulevard are still below the decibel threshold, transportation officials said Friday.

Heeding a concern from a Barrington Avenue resident in January claiming he can hear more traffic from his home about a half mile away, Metro Community Relations Manager Kasey Shuda said they had workers go out Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at morning and evening hours to take noise level readings. The readings were taken when work sites were quiet, noting construction work can affect ambient noise from the traffic flow.

"The readings were pretty consistent with what was in the [Caltrans] EIR," Shuda said.

Ambient noise for those area homes near the freeway saw a "five to seven" decibel level increase but were within the 12 decibel theshold, Shuda said.

She noted that Metro's noise level readers are hand-held devices and not as complex as Caltrans' devices. Shuda said Caltrans' readers can incorporate street level noise, wind and temperature, for example.

"We sent our readings and summary to the [Barrington Avenue] residents," she said. "They understood our position."

Brentwood residents along the 405 Freeway project continue contacting Patch to voice their angst living near one of the largest construction projects in the country, whether it is traffic gridlock, all-day construction or traffic noise or continuous dirt flying into the air.

If you've bore the brunt of the 405 Freeway project and have an interesting story to tell, email Brentwood@patch.com.

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