Wednesday, March 19, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
Henderson residents want sound walls to shield them from freeway noise, but at least one Southern Nevada lawmaker isn't sold on the idea.
At an Assembly Transportation Committee hearing Tuesday in Carson City, legislators heard testimony on a bill to construct the barriers along U.S. 95 from Lake Mead Drive south to Boulder Highway.
Assembly Bill 3, sponsored by Assemblywoman Gene Segerblom, D-Boulder City, originally carried a $15 million price tag for a sound wall along one side of the highway. But the cost could double to $30 million if the Legislature chooses to build barriers on both sides of U.S. 95.
Henderson resident Denny Kern hopes lawmakers pass the bill. He and three other homeowners who live adjacent to the freeway told the committee that the roar from nearby traffic is unbearable. Their remarks were made in a video teleconference from the Sawyer State Office Building in Las Vegas.
"The quality of life along I-515 (U.S. 95) has fallen dramatically," Kern said. "I don't have to get up until 7:30 a.m. but every day the traffic alarm clock goes off at 4:15."
The sharpest attack on the bill came from Assemblyman Tom Collins, D-North Las Vegas, who insisted a cheaper alternative could be found. He referred to the barriers as a "cosmetic improvement." He urged consideration of "something other than a Cadillac when a Ford will get them there."
Kern didn't take those remarks lightly. He opposed the earth berms the Nevada Department of Transportation has proposed as an alternative because he's concerned about potential dust problems.
"I would like to thank Mr. Collins for his input, but I would like to see NDOT dump a load of dirt in his back yard," Kern said. "We citizens in Henderson don't want to sound like we're upset or greedy. But I've been involved in this since 1991, and we just want to have some relief."
Fellow homeowners Joseph Labrosky and Jeffrey Decker complained they can't even open their windows because of the noise.
"If anyone called my house, you could actually hear the traffic noise over the telephone," Decker said.
Assemblywoman Vonne Chowning, D-North Las Vegas, the committee chairwoman, said one of the lawmakers on the panel might take up Decker's invitation to dine at his house to experience the noise.
The panel did not take any action Tuesday.
Rep. John Ensign, R-Nev., whose congressional district includes Henderson, announced last month that he had requested $8 million in federal highway funds to help pay for the sound barriers.
Henderson city officials told the Transportation Committee last month that 760 city residents are adversely affected by the noise. They blamed the highway department for failing to predict those noise levels before that section of highway was opened in 1994.
Asked why he chose to buy a house knowing that a freeway would be going in nearby, Kern said he was told by the agent who sold him the home that sound walls would be built with the freeway.
"That's important for us to know," said Chowning, a real estate agent. "Unfortunately, that was probably not information backed up with fact."
The residents who testified Tuesday originally planned to appear before the committee at a hearing last month. But video teleconference difficulties blamed on a faulty telephone line forced postponement of that testimony.
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