Serino, Keefe Request Construction of Sound Barrier for Route 1

Councillors Richard Serino and Patrick Keefe are asking the Gov. Charlie Baker Administration to prioritize the building of a sound barrier along Route 1, from Copeland Circle to Route 16 in Revere, to decrease noise in the neighborhood from vehicles traveling on the busy highway.

“We were very excited to see that the Transportation Bond Bill was passed and one of the expenditures was to assist in sound barriers for Route 1 that surround Revere,” said Keefe.

The Ward 4 councilor asked that residents reach out to state legislators to urge Gov. Baker to build the sound barrier soon “because it’s something that Revere needs.”

“This is not a done deal by any stretch of the imagination,” cautioned Serino, who represents Ward 6. “This is a Bond Bill authorization that was authorized by the House and the Senate in which the Governor signed. The Governor can choose which projects he and his administration would like to fund that are included this laundry list of items that are in the bill.”

Serino said Ward 6 residents “have been complaining for years about the sound and it is a serious quality-of-life issue.”

“Now is the time for us to really step it up with the Governor and request that he authorize these funds.”

Ward 2 Councillor Ira Novoselsky praised the two councilors for sponsoring the motion.

 â€œBack in 2008, we were promised these barriers when they supposed to widen Route 1 because of the Roseland property at Overlook Ridge project,” said Novoselsky. “I know that Gov. Patrick refused to give it to us when it was in the Bond Bill back in the teens (the 2010s). I just hope that Gov. Baker appreciates all the help we’ve been giving him. We have to get to the other representatives to help push this through. I just hope this thing goes through this time. It’s not my ward but it affects everybody.”

The City Council unanimously approved the motion.