KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — Dozens of people who live in North Knoxville want a noise-abatement wall put up alongside their condo community, which lies a couple of hundred feet off I-75. Ever since trees and shrubs were removed last year, residents say the rumble of trucks, cars, and engine braking has become “unbearable.”
From Lee Williams’ back porch, he has a direct view of I-75. However, it didn’t look like this when he moved in three years ago. His subdivision, Alpine Meadow, is just south of the Emory Road exit in North Knoxville. Where there is now a flat terrain, a thick grove of dense trees and shrubs was cut down last year. They once served as a natural sound barrier for homeowners who are closest to the road. Since the removal of trees and shrubs, highway noise levels have risen sharply.
“It has just gotten louder, a lot louder,” said Williams. “At first, I could at least go outside. We could have conversations on our back deck. Now I can’t, we can’t do any of that. I just go outside, I cook, I grill out, and I just come right back inside. [The noise is] too much.”
6 News met with three homeowners from Alpine Meadow. Their neighborhood consists of 193 units with 36 built next to the busy highway corridor…