They're massive, they're everywhere and they're surprisingly misunderstood—here's what a highway wall is really for ...

PennDOT is planning a sound abatement wall project in parts of Chester along I-95. (KATHLEEN E. CAREY - DAILY TIMES) He also warned that the walls will reduce the sound but it won’t eliminate it.

Officials say the noise barrier on that strip of highway is 3,000 feet long. Photovoltaic panels — known more commonly as solar panels — will be mounted to the noise barrier.

Wolfe said that he knows that residents of Ft. Wright have asked for a sound wall. “It is not an uncommon request to have some kind of sound wall,” he said.

Neither do I. But the solution to highway noise is not to create a walled canyon paid for by others. Sound barriers, in my view, are a waste of precious resources.

News Connecticut News CT highway sound barrier plan would cost $300M. Residents: traffic noise ‘borderline unbearable’ Richard Messina / Hartford Courant ...

WE’RE USED TO SEEING SOLAR PANELS ALONG SIDE THE HIGHWAY, BUT WE COULD SOON THE STATE HARNESSING SAROL ENERGY ON HIGHWAY SOUND BARRIERS LIKE THESE. SPECIFICALLY, THIS BARRIER ANGLO ROUTE 128 IN ...

SUNLIGHT IS ABOUT TO PLAY HOST TO A BUNCH OF SOLAR PANELS. WE’RE USED TO SEEING SOLAR PANELS ALONG SIDE THE HIGHWAY, BUT WE COULD SOON THE STATE HARNESSING SAROL ENERGY ON HIGHWAY SOUND BARRIERS ...