Portsmouth Found Eligible for I-95 Noise Reduction

PORTSMOUTH, NH — Portsmouth has been found eligible for state funding for the construction of sound barriers along the Interstate 95 corridor. The funding would provide $2.32 million to reduce noise coming from I-95, with barriers being installed near the residential area of Pannaway Manor. According to city officials, Portsmouth is the first community in the Granite State to be approved for New Hampshire Department of Transportation's Type II Noise Abatement Program.

The approval means that Portsmouth is eligible to apply for state funding that would cover the majority of the five-year project. As outlined in the city's Capital Improvement Program, Department of Transportation would fund $400,000 in the year 2020 for the project, and $480,000 annually from 2021 through 2025. The state funding would come from the state's Transportation Improvement Plan, when that plan is funded, according to city officials.

As part of the Portsmouth CIP, the city's 18-percent contribution to the project will start in 2021, city officials say.

Noise abatement for the I-95 corridor was listed in the city's CIP in 2018. In April of that year, Department of Transportation Assistant Commissioner Bill Cass visited and inspected the site where the sound barriers would be installed, and the following January, the City Council adopted the Noise Highway Overlay District. Council members also adopted zoning ordinances addressing development in areas that are close to the highway, which were required for the state funding application.

"The City of Portsmouth has worked for more than a decade to find noise abatement solutions for the Pannaway Manor neighborhood and others throughout the city, now and in the future," said City Manager John P. Bohenko in a statement. "Our NH legislative delegation has also pursued creative approaches on our behalf for State-level funding. The adoption in January of noise abatement ordinances made it possible to move quickly on the application to NHDOT and now Portsmouth is the first community in the state to be approved for Type II Noise Abatement Program funds. Our representatives to the NH Legislature are pursuing funding for TYP. The new noise abatement ordinances also address development in areas in proximity to highways in the future."

With Portsmouth being the first community to meet Type II Noise Abatement Program requirements, Department of Transportation will conduct a pilot assessment of the project to gauge the needs associated with potential future projects. According to city officials, Department of Transportation Commissioner Victoria Sheehan has sent Portsmouth a letter, stating the pilot study is expected to be completed this fall, "at which time all Type II eligible abatement measures will have been identified within the City of Portsmouth."

Portsmouth officials will be notified of the results of the study once it is completed.