July 3, 2025 - Copy of email to Councilwoman Gretchen Bangert

Copy of letter to Councilwoman Gretchen Bangert

Dear Councilwoman Gretchen Bangert, 

I have a petition Urge MoDOT to Construct a Sound Wall along Highway 270 for Noise Reduction. I need your help getting the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to perform a sound study and mitigate noise pollution on I-270 between Olive Boulevard and Page Avenue. I would appreciate any advice or guidance you can offer. It would also be helpful if you could write our Missouri state representatives. Representative Wagner and Senator McCreery who did not reply to my April 2025 emails.

I live in the Orchard Lakes (OL) Subdivision in Unincorporated St. Louis County, MO. The location of my home is I-270 near the sign for exit 16 (West 364-D). The OL Subdivision was constructed in the 1960s. My house was built in 1961. I have lived in my home since 1984, before the Page Boulevard flyover was built and I-270 was expanded with additional lanes in the area of Olive Boulevard and Page Avenue between 2005 and 2011. I am experiencing health issues in which excessive and prolonged noise pollution are contributing factors. Between 2005 and 2011, MoDOT did not conduct a noise study or address the potential for increased noise pollution along I-270 between Olive Boulevard and PageAvenue.

I have emailed the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) of the EPA, requesting a sound study and mitigation of the noise, but have not received a reply. I asked Director Hassinger of MoDOT to analyze the noise level in the OL Subdivision and mitigate the issue. Director Hassinger's response (see Letter from Director Hassinger) was "MoDOT does not participate in stand-alone retrofit noise barrier projects on existing highways. Unless there is a highway expansion project that triggers a new noise study, MoDOT will not perform a study or construct sound barriers along I-270 between Olive Boulvard and MO 364. If MoDOT has a future project that would add lanes or reconstruct the interchange, a noise study would be completed at that time."

I find this answer unacceptable because the noise level in my yard exceeds 67 decibels. On July 2, 2025, I recorded sound levels while sitting on the patio in my backyard (at 1149 Orchard Lakes Dr.), which showed an average sound level of 96.5 decibels. Refer to the Noise Report - 1149 for the recording. Attached is a noise level report from the front porch of 1138 Orchard Lakes Dr., which is across the street from 1149 Orchard Lakes Dr., showing the peak decibel level of 115; see Noise Report - 1138.
 

I need all representatives of decision-making organizations to be aware that all homeowners and residents living adjacent to I-270 should have their properties evaluated for sound levels. I am not an attorney authorized to represent anyone, but many petition supporters have stated that the noise pollution from I-270 is intolerable. If a sound study demonstrates that noise levels exceed 66 decibels, the EPA and MoDOT must implement appropriate mitigation techniques or devices due to health risks. The July–August 2002 issue of the Archives of Environmental Health states that sound acts as a stressor. Over time, sound may produce adverse health effects, including an elevation of systolic and diastolic blood pressure, as well as an increase in heart rate, resulting in both acute and chronic health consequences.

For your convenience, page three of this document contains a list of all hyperlinks, which I have included as PDFs with this email.

Councilwoman Banger, please do everything in your power to help all individuals living within hearing distance of I-270 solve the noise pollution issue.