Sound Walls

The Draft Environmental Assessment of the MoPac Improvement Project includes the construction of sound walls at a number of locations. Details regarding the walls and their locations can be found in Appendix O. The process that was used to determine where walls should be constructed is described below.

The MoPac Improvement Project team conducted sound studies in the corridor and hosted sound wall workshops in the neighborhoods where sound walls have been determined to be reasonable and feasible. In addition, a Context Sensitive Design Advisory Committee consisting of neighborhood representatives helped develop the look and feel of the planned walls. Finally, a voting process was conducted to determine which walls were to be constructed.

The Process for Approving Sound Walls

Under Federal Highway Administration and TxDOT rules, people who own property that is generally adjacent to a proposed sound wall are given the opportunity to decide whether they want a wall constructed. The MoPac Improvement Project team identified the location of potential walls and the abutting property owners associated with each wall segment. Seven sound wall workshops were conducted during summer 2011. A voting process was implemented to determine the opinion of adjacent property owners regarding each wall.

TxDOT sent ballots via certified mail to eligible property owners in June with ballots due by August 29, 2011. Several walls did not have enough ballots returned (at least 51% of ballots are needed to complete the voting process). In those cases TxDOT re-contacted, via certified mail, the eligible property owners who had not voted. The second attempt ballots were due (postmarked) by September 14, 2011. The voting is now closed.

The Voting Results

Based on the ballots received, all walls were approved with the exception of three. The three walls that were voted down are:

• Sound wall #2, along Great North Blvd. between Pinecrest Drive and Foster Lane on the north end of project study area
• Sound wall #19, just north of 10^th St.
• Sound wall #20a, closest to Cesar Chavez St. on the south end of the study area

Should a "Build" alternative be selected and approved by the Federal Highway Administration, all noise walls except for these three will be constructed as part of the project.  

The MoPac Improvement Team is aware that there are residential areas that did not meet the criteria for sound wall construction even though they currently have city maintained wooden fences. TxDOT, the Mobility Authority and the City of Austin are looking at options to fund the replacement of those wooden fences with walls that are aesthetically similar to the planned sound walls.

Click the following link for detailed MoPac Sound Wall Voting Results.

Maps of the currently proposed sound wall locations can be downloaded by clicking on the links below:

Full MoPac Improvement Project Corridor

For ease of downloading and viewing the corridor map has also been split into three separate sections.

Steck Avenue to RM 2222               RM 2222 to Westover Road               Westover Road to Cesar Chavez Street

Sound Wall Locations

In most cases sound walls will be constructed on or near the property line separating MoPac from adjacent properties. In some cases it may not be feasible or beneficial to construct a sound wall near the property line. In these situations the wall may be built somewhere between the property line and the edge of the roadway pavement. Sound walls may also be constructed on a number of the bridges along MoPac.

Project planners have been analyzing the MoPac corridor and given the extremely limited right of way available in the corridor, and the presence of existing utilities, potential sound wall locations are subject to change as studies and plans are refined.

Noise Analysis

When determining where sound walls are reasonable and feasible, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) consider the following:

• Type of land use activity impacted by traffic noise (residential homes, schools, businesses, etc.)
• Determination of existing noise levels
• Prediction of future noise levels under each reasonable Build alternative and the No Build Alternative
• Consideration and evaluation of abatement measures to reduce noise impacts
• Consideration of cost and constructability of sound walls or other approved noise reduction alternatives

Sound Wall Workshops

Aestheticos

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