2B, US 10 - Highway 96 Interchange Improvements - Municipal Co

Home Browse Search

Department of Public Works James E. Tolaas, P.E., Director and County Engineer 1425 Paul Kirkwold Drive Arden Hills, MN 55112-3933 •(651)266-7100• Fax(651)266-7110 7AWMS NTY E-mail:Public.►141orks@co.ramsey.mn.us September 8, 2011 David Cmiel 1861 W. Highway 96 Arden Hills, MN 55112 NOISE ABATEMENT FOR HIGHWAY 10/HIGHWAY 96 INTERCHANGE CONSTRUCTION Dear Mr. Cmiel: I apologize that it has taken so long to reply to your request for a review of the noise analysis for the Lakeshore Place homeowners. We took a look at the calculations of the Environmental Assessment(EA)that was done for the project and compared it to the noise analysis that was done when the Ryan Companies were planning to develop the TCAAP site and came to the following conclusions: ➢ Your letter of July 181h to Arden Hills City Public Works Director Terry Maurer and Chris Chromy, of Bolton &Menk refers to a wall 1,450-1,500 feet long and 20' high and the accompanying drawing shows a wall 1,500 feet long, so we used the 1,500' length to calculate a costldba reduction/home along Lakeshore Place. For these calculations we assumed that this wall would provide the same noise reduction of 6.2 dba(not necessarily a correct assumption)that the modeled wall showed, and using the EA cost of$15.00/square foot_ The cost of this wall would be$450,000 (1,500 linear feet X 20 feet high=30,000 square feet X$15.00=$450,000), While the regulations in place at the time the EA was done do not require us to include all platted lots, we calculated the cost using all 13 piatted and buildable lots on Lakeshore Place. The cost per dba of noise reduction per home would be $5,583($450,000/(13 homes X 6.2 decibel reduction]= $5,583). If we simply apply the Bonestroo cost of the wall per home for 13, rather than 10 homes, the cost is very close, $5,867/homeldba reduction. In either case the cost per decibel reduction per home is significantly over the threshold of $3,250 which is considered reasonable for construction a noise wall. The packet you provided us included a letter from Terry Maurer that discussed the City paying for walls that are not deemed reasonable based on the$3,250/dba/home formula, but it is our understanding that this is no longer being considered. ➢ We've discussed the retaining wall along Lakeshore Place a bit and, due to its height, it will require a fence or railing at its top. During the final design phase of the project, we will work to identify what type of fence is appropriate to give the best screening from the road and will present some options to homeowners that we hope will help mitigate the loss of vegetation_ We appreciate your involvement in the project development process and look forward to continuing to work with you as the design progresses. Please let me know if you have questions or comments. I can be reached at 651-266-7114 or by e-mail at'ose h.lux co.ramse .mn_us. Sincerely, oseph LUX Planning Specialist C: Terry Maurer,Arden Hills Director of Public Works