After more than a year of construction, the soundwall on US 127 is complete.
The final panel was put up right before Christmas. We sent News Ten's Marcus Dash out to a neighborhood east of the wall to see if it was worth the wait.
It's been a little over two weeks since the wall's been up along US 127 in Lansing. Even though the project is finally done, the more than year-long delay due to construction issues has left a bitter taste in the mouths of some people who live nearby. That was the case for Joe Wisniewski.
"We were very disappointed that it took a year and half to have it built and I still don't understand the explanation that they provided, and they said they didn't have enough material to construct it," said Wisniewski.
Despite the delay-- almost all of the neighbors I spoke with said the soundwall is blocking out sound better than they imagined. However Wisniewski isn't ready to sing its praises just yet.
"It is too early to tell because it was done in the middle of December we had the cold weather come down on us and doors and windows are kept locked inside and I haven't spent much time outside at all," said Wisniewski.
And another man who lives nearby, Tim Ward tells me the wall isn't keeping out the sound, it is actually making it worse," said Ward.
"We think it's louder since they've gotten it up, we were talking about it several different times. It is kinda weird because we've figured it would be a lot softer," said Ward.
It's not just the effectiveness that's getting mixed reviews. Some say they like the way the wall looks. Others say they don't like seeing it in their backyards. However all of them say they're just happy it's finally finished. So is Michigan Department of Transportation spokeswoman Kari Arend.
"We are happy that the wall is done and in place, and that it is benefiting residents with noise mitigation which was the point of installing it," said Arend.
M-DOT says it hasn't gotten any complaints, or feedback about the wall yet. They want to thank everyone for being patient during the construction process.
