Route 347 Sound Wall Construction to Begin Late January

Hauppauge and Smithtown residents will start seeing construction of a sound wall barrier to protect them from the traffic noise and lights on Nesconset Highway. 

New York State Department of Transportation said as part of the Route 347 greenway improvement project construction workers will begin installing a sound wall barrier along the south side of the highway from Route 111 east to Mount Pleasant Road in late January. It should be completed by March. 

Roughly 90 homeowners in the Hauppauge-Smithtown area voted in favor of having a sound wall built along Route 347 to help quiet noise and lights from the highway's expansion from 4 to 6 lanes in September 2012. 

The DOT's original plans call for the sound walls to start at a height of approximately 12 feet near intersections, gradually growing in height up to 20-feet tall. The finished height of the wall will depend on roadside topography and any grading that is done during the construction of the Route 347 greenway project. 

DOT construction supervisor Raymond Weixler wrote in a Dec. 18 letter to Legis. John Kennedy, R-Nesconset, that the Route 347 greenway improvements between Route 111/Wheeler's Path and Mount Pleasant Road will be done in three phases. 

In Phase I, DOT workers will install a sound wall barrier along the south side of Route 347 and create a Shared-Use Path for pedestrians and bicyclists. Phase I is expected to be completed by March, according to Weixler.  

Under Phase II, construction crews will reconstruct and expand the westbound lanes of Route 347. Plans call for the installation of sound walls along the north side of the highway starting in August, finished by September 2014. Along with necessary drainage and utility work, Phase II is expected to be completed by October, according to Weixler. 

The DOT construction supervisor said the last stage of construction, Phase III, will involve reconstruction of the center median on Route 347 from Route 111 to Mount Pleasant Road along with drainage and utility work. The final paving of the roadway is anticipated to take place in May 2015.