The Georgia Department of Transportation is clearing trees near highways, and one man says he wants to keep the trees behind his house.
Mike Bilderback is used to the sounds of Interstate 75 in his backyard, but he doesn't want it louder than it is now. A recent Georgia Department of Transportation project clearing trees around interstate 75 has him worried.
“There's no real scientific proof that trees reduce noise, but I can tell you living an 1/8 of a mile from the interstate, it is louder,” said Bilderback.
GDOT is working on clearing trees between mile marker 201 in Butts County to 157 in south Macon. There is a break between Arkwright Road to Mercer University Drive. The $3.4 million to fund the project comes from the Transportation Funding Act.
State transportation Spokesperson Natalie Dale says they're targeting anything within the fence line along the interstate. This includes the median strip and the side of the road. She said it’ll make it safer for drivers who run off of the road. “500 people in our state in the last three years have died from running of the road and running into a tree,” said Dale.
Bilderback says he hopes they make an exception for the trees that aren't crucial to public safety. “Their contract was from fence line to fence line. I just feel like that's extreme,” said Bilderback.
Contractors will go back after the trees are cut down they will put in flowers, mulching, and reseeding. The project is expected to be finished by the end of 2018.