Residents along I-20 west corridor call on federal government to approve sound barrier project

By Brittany Ford ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First)

Area residents are pushing for safety improvements and sound barriers along I-20.

There are calls to make living along the I-20 west corridor safer.

A group of neighbors in Mozley Park held a press conference alongside Georgia state Rep. Mesha Mainor pushing for the construction of sound barriers.

The group sent a letter to the U.S. secretary of transportation and the Georgia Department of Transportation urging them to take action.

Keith Palmer is one of several neighbors who have been working to get the barriers put up along the 5-mile stretch of Hill Street to Holmes Drive.

He says the grassroots effort has been ongoing for years.

“I was sitting out here on the porch one day and the noise had got to the point where it was crazy,” Palmer said.

Palmer says the barriers will also address ongoing health and safety concerns.

“A car came in, tore up the guardrail and came through the fence, and they left a hole in the middle of the fence for months,” he said.

According to the Fulton County health department, communities adjacent to the highway experience higher than normal rates of blood pressure and heart disease.

The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) says they can only fund a study or build a barrier if a federal project is in the works. Right now, there are no planned projects.

The neighborhood is working with Rep. Mainor, R-Atlanta, to fundraise and get the barrier another way.

“The purpose of this news conference is really a cry and an urge for our local leaders and our federal leaders to put up the funding so the state can put up a noise barrier,” Mainor said.

Palmer says the stalled project highlights environmental disparities.

“I lived in Dunwoody, and in Dunwoody, there are sound barriers everywhere,” Palmer said. “We can’t seem to get anybody to address our concerns.”

He says they won’t stop until something is done.

“We can continue to push, continue to bring the neighborhood together,” said Palmer. “We’ll see what we can get done.”

The Atlanta City Council passed a resolution last year urging the federal government to approve the project.