Southgate resident Gary Martin stands beside the symbolic check from the state of Michigan that represents the $6.5 million allocation in the state budget to erect a sound wall barrier between the Southampton subdivision and the I-75 freeway, a much-needed project that he championed.
By SUE SUCHYTA
Sunday Times Newspapers
SOUTHGATE – The state of Michigan budgeted $6.5 million for a new sound barrier wall between the Southampton subdivision and I-75, a project championed by resident Gary Martin.
Mayor Joseph Kuspa announced that when Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed the 2024-25 fiscal year budget into law on July 23, it resolved an issue that has plagued the Southampton subdivision for the past five years since the reconstruction and resurfacing of the nearby I-75 expressway near Goodard Road.
He said the subdivision has had to deal with an unacceptable increase in traffic noise since the freeway work was completed.
“The MDOT project initially included a sound wall on the Allen Park side of the expressway, but not on the Southgate side,” Kuspa said. “This issue was originally brought to the city’s attention by Gary Martin.”
The mayor said Martin’s perseverance and commitment to the city of Southgate and his neighborhood will result in the Southampton sound barrier wall becoming a reality in 2025.
Martin, who is the president of the Southampton subdivision homeowner’s association, said the noise has been a problem ever since the I-75 bridge over Goodard Road was lowered 12 feet and grooved water dispersing pavement was put in place.
“We started this process of getting the funds in 2019,” he said. “They finished it in November 2018, and the people that live in the subdivision didn’t notice it until the next spring, when you opened your windows.”
Martin said the first Wednesday of 2019 is when he brought the problem to the attention of the City Council.
He said the mayor and city administrator were supportive of the project, but it took the efforts of other people as well to bring the problem and the need for funding to Whitmer’s attention.
“Finally, we got it funded after five-and-a-half years,” Martin said.