All Middleburg Heights residents want is a little peace and quiet, but they tell News 5 their request is falling on deaf ears.
Right now, a handful of determined homeowners in Middleburg Heights are taking on the Ohio Department of Transportation. It's a lengthy battle that has hit a roadblock.
A recent change in scenery along the highway just escalated the noise in the neighborhood.
This is after a large wooded area that helped buffer some of the sound from I-71 was recently cut down.
What ODOT put in its place is not sitting well with the people who live there.
"Look what I have to deal with. I can't enjoy my backyard. I can't have people over," said Sam Seagro, homeowner.
Standing in his kitchen with all the doors and windows closed one can hear a constant roar raging outside Seagro's home on Buckingham Court in Middleburg Heights.
For years, the sound of moving traffic from Interstate 71 was muffled by a mini forest that once stood behind these homes.
"Those 50 trees, they were a great noise barrier," said Jim Birkley.
After homeowners like Birkley complained about the health of some of those trees, ODOT came out to clear fallen branches.
"Their idea of cleaning it up was just to cut down all the existing trees just clear it like it was a farmland," said Seagro.
Twenty evergreen trees have now been planted to help block the noise.
"It might look a little bit nicer, but it does nothing for the noise," said Birkley.
The immediate fix these homeowners have been pushing for is the construction of a barrier wall.
"My house in the closest to 71 on this whole strip and it's the only section that doesn't have a wall," said Seagro.
News 5 took these concerns to ODOT.
A spokesperson tells us they do not take requests for things like sound barriers from residents. A formal request would have to be submitted by the City of Middleburg Heights.
Even then, these homes were built long after the highway, so ODOT is not required to add a sound barrier now.
"I think it's a huge safety issue," said Seagro.
Seagro is worried there's nothing to stop an out of control car or semi from crashing in his backyard.
"They're coming right in my backyard, possibly in my house," said Seagro.
ODOT tells News 5 the only purpose barrier walls serve is to block sound not stop traffic.
We reached out multiple times to the City of Middleburg Heights to find out what's next, if they plan on filing a formal request, but we never heard back.
