Residents near 248th Avenue in southwest Naperville are invited to a discussion on the location of noise reduction walls proposed between 95th and 103rd streets.
The Illinois Department of Transportation recently certified a noise wall analysis completed by Civiltech Engineering, Naperville’s consultant on the 248th Avenue improvement project.
The Civiltech report and the city’s Transportation, Engineering and Development department said some properties would be affected by traffic noise once 248th Avenue is expanded and the Islamic Center of Naperville mosque complex is fully built.
IDOT confirmed sound barriers are warranted along 248th Avenue from 95th to 103rd streets, where rear or side yards of homes back up to the roadway.
The properties that don’t meet the criteria because they fall short of IDOT’s 66-decibel noise threshold are on the east side of 248th Avenue from Grassmere Road to Lapp Lane and from the Tall Grass Greenway Trail to Landsdown Avenue.
Evidence of traffic noise affecting residents is the one of the criteria that must be satisfied before IDOT and the Federal Highway Administration will consider funding any noise abatement.
Naperville is in the process of updating 248th Avenue, which was designed for rural use and currently has one 11.5-foot lane in each direction, a gravel shoulder and drainage ditches.
The city plans to widen it to two lanes in each direction with a landscaped median and left-turn lane at intersecting streets. Storm sewers, curbs, gutters and streetlights would be installed, and sidewalks added where there are gaps.
In addition, a pedestrian refuge island will be added at the Tall Grass Greenway Trail crossing.
The meeting to discuss the noise wall will be at 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 18, in council chambers of the Naperville Municipal Center, 400 S. Eagle St.
Another meeting in September will allow homeowners who qualify for a wall under IDOT standards to vote on whether they want one installed. No date has been set.
Construction tentatively is scheduled to begin in 2026 and should last about 12 months. City officials said they’ve been notified that Naperville will receive federal funding for the project.
Federal funding was integral to the project being undertaken, officials said.
Similar noise abatement walls were built near Washington and 75th Street and 95th Street and Naperville Plainfield Road, with federal money paying for 70% of the cost.
subaker@tribpub.com