SAVANNAH, GA (WTOC) -
Construction is under way on a sound wall for the Tatumville neighbhood. City officials said the wall is going to be graffiti resistant.
Richard Penn has lived on Godsells Street for 47 years. Godsells Street is one street over from I-516 in the neighborhood that people speed past.
But for the next six months, drivers will be going a lot slower in that stretch as city construction crews build a long awaited sound barrier between the neighborhood and the noisy cars.
"When 516 was built, there should have been a sound wall. Unfortunately in the 70s, there were no standards for building a sound wall," said Heather Fish, of Citizen Specialist, Savannah.
Fish said that when project DeRenne talks began, Penn hit the streets of Tatumville and got neighborhood support for the barrier wall.
"When I first thought about it, I got paper and pencil and went around to all these people round here - see if they would sign it," Penn said.
Now residents agreed to give a little bit of their backyard - what little they had, some only had 2 feet of backyard to the easement of 516, but they said it was well worth it for a little bit of land for a lot of noise reduction.
Penn had to give more than a little of his backyard. Construction crews had to cut off part of his garage and dig up his garden. He said that's small price to pay for peace and quiet.
Penn said by the time the wall is finished, he'll have to time to replant his garden.
Construction crews will close the turn lane from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. every weekday until they finish the work, which will be in about six months.
Copyright 2013 WTOC. All rights reserved.
All content © Copyright 2000 - 2013 WorldNow and WTOC, a Raycom Media Station.
