Homeowners upset GDOT cleared trees that served as noise barrier to busy DeKalb highway

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — Families in a DeKalb County neighborhood said that after crews took down all the trees on the side of the road, they just hear nonstop traffic.

Channel 2 Investigative Reporter Ashli Lincoln was near the I-285 and I-675 corridor, where she talked to homeowners who want to know if a sound wall will be installed.

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Before the land was cleared along Sugar Creek Falls Court, it was a thick, wooded area that blocked both the view and sound from the highway.

Kimberly Eppes said that what was once a quiet neighborhood is now “very disruptive, very unnerving.”

“It was beautiful greenery,” Eppes said. “It was nice scenery to look out my window in the morning, but now I’m met with traffic. We’re all unhappy.

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For more than a year, Eppes and her neighbors have been left in the dark regarding if sound barriers will be installed. In the last year, Eppes said highway debris constantly lands in her backyard.

“I’ve gotten some pieces of tire that landed over the fence,” Eppes said. “One of the larger trees is actually broken, and while my children were on their trampoline it fell. Luckily it didn’t hit them, but it did damage the trampoline.”

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Eppes said that even more concerning is the fact that individuals have cut a hole in the fence and are using it as a cut-through to get to nearby Bouldercrest Road.

“I found empty liquor bottles, empty water bottles, I found empty chip bags, candy bags,” Eppes said. “It’s evident that someone is using that as an access point.”

Lincoln reached out to GDOT to find out if the state plans to install sound barriers. A spokesperson said homeowners will have to wait until the project is completed in 2025 before the sound barriers will be installed.

Lincoln learned that the land was cleared as part of a $90 million highway improvement project between I-675 and Bouldercrest Road where new lanes and a new bridge are being built.

“We want to put our fences up without worrying if our property is going to be damaged further,” Eppes said.

There are multiple areas along I-285 that have been cleared, impacting several communities.

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