The North Carolina Department of Transportation has dropped plans to build noise walls along the Brookshire Freeway side of I-277 in uptown Charlotte.
The walls were proposed as a way to mitigate noise from the widening of I-77, but city officials and some residents were critical of the idea. The walls would’ve been as high as 22 feet, and would have blocked views of the uptown skyline. The DOT followed its standard procedure and let residents and property owners vote on the project. One wall was defeated and another narrowly approved. But, neighborhood representatives and city officials raised concerns about the process. As a result of an independent review that tracked down people who didn’t vote, the DOT says it’s no longer considering noise walls on 277. This decision does not affect I-77 noise walls near West End and Sunset Road.
Construction on the I-77 widening project could begin as soon as December.
