Bellflower : Freeway Sound Wall Funds Diverted to Repair Street

Parents and supporters campaigning for construction of a sound wall along the Artesia (91) Freeway near a parochial school suffered a setback when officials voted to use $1.4 million reserved for the barrier on another project.

“We have been in a battle for more than two years. Things were looking positive for a while,” said Melissa Mosley, a parent and volunteer teacher at St. Bernard Catholic School.

But Councilman Joseph E. Cvetko said: “The council had no choice. We were facing a deadline. If we didn’t use the money by the end of the month we would lose it.”

The council voted unanimously to spend the money on reconstructing a section of Bellflower Boulevard between Artesia Boulevard and Walnut Street. Officials had until April 30 to use the $1.4 million in federal funds, they said. The money would have gone toward building the sound wall, which was expected to cost approximately $2.3 million. The remaining funds would have come from the state.

Officials had been working with parents at St. Bernard Catholic School, the California Transportation Department, the county Transportation Commission and state Sen. Cecil N. Green (D-Norwalk) to have the barrier constructed.

In 1989, Mosely and other parents at the 325-student school organized a campaign to have a sound barrier constructed along the freeway between Clark and Woodruff avenues. Teachers had complained of students not being able to hear them because of traffic noise. There also was concern about air pollution.

Based on its ranking in a statewide priority list, the sound wall project is scheduled for construction by 1997, said Bill Minter, Caltrans sound wall project engineer.

A spokeswoman for Sen. Green’s office said the senator would continue his efforts to get the wall built earlier.