Noise Reduction along I-605

To reduce noise impacts to the community along I-605, LA Metro added approximately three miles of soundwalls along the north and southbound 605 in the City of Whittier and unincorporated L.A. County areas, from Slauson Avenue to Oregon Street.

 Sound Wall 6 & 8

Ghirardelli provided construction management services for Sound Wall No. 6 (1246 LF), and No. 8 (8400 LF) and two bridge widenings along the 605 freeway. These walls are 14-foot tall masonry-block walls supported on a variety of foundation types including cast-in-place drilled hole pile foundations, spread-footing foundations, grade beams, and/or k-rail-concrete sections. To accommodate the new soundwalls, two highway bridges were widened and included additional pre-cast concrete girders, concrete deck-slab placement, and paving. Other project elements included drainage systems, elevated signage poles, lighting poles, retaining walls, utility relocations, landscaping and associated irrigation systems, earthwork, paving, freeway traffic controls, and storm water drainage during construction.

 Ghirardelli’s Project Oversight

Ghirardelli provided full-service construction management support for this project including, pre-construction administration, construction coordination, contract administration, cost and schedule control, construction inspection, materials testing, and project closeout.

Our assigned Contract Manager/Resident Engineer oversaw contract management, scheduling, and change orders while resolving complex issues to keep the project on time and within budget. He also worked with State oversight and local city employees and communicated with nearby homeowners to keep them informed about the project. Additional coordination involved working with local utilities, including water and sewer districts where the sound wall was constructed. Our team also reviewed schedules, oversaw material testing, and performed quality assurance to avoid claims and project delays.

 Construction inspectors performed all field inspection activities to monitor compliance with the contract plans and specifications. They also maintained daily construction diaries that documented work progress. Throughout the project, Ghirardelli maintained strong project safety and risk management implementation to minimize and mitigate risk.

As a result of our efforts, the project was completed on budget and ahead of schedule.