One Family Frustrated With LBJ Construction Near Their Home
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – Some Dallas homeowners are upset that construction near their home is more than they bargained for.
The Stanush family says the construction on the LBJ Freeway tore down their privacy fence and left them with nothing but a noise barrier.
"The problem is…the bottom part of the wall; there's still a large gap," says Francis Stanush.
He and his wife, Missy Stanush, say they anticipated the work would inconvenience them, but they never figured there would be expenses come out of their pockets.
"They started the job," says Francis, referring to the highway contractors, "and it's still not finished."
Stacked on the corner of their property is what used to be their privacy fence. When they bought the home last year they say they were not aware the land on which the fence sat had already been claimed for the LBJ project six years earlier.
The fence and some trees along the fence line came down in February, and last week a noise barrier went up. But now they're informed if they want the gap at the bottom filled in, they must do it.
"Wait a minute – us fill it in?" Francis says he remembered saying, adding, "'Well,' they said, 'That's the homeowner's responsibility due to drainage issues.'"
The family estimates that will reach $1,500 at a minimum. In the meantime, they worry about their two small dogs. One, Milo, has already gotten out and wandered down to the freeway.
"Had we known about it ten months ago it would have been a lot easier for us to kind of save the money to fill it in," said Missy Stanush, "but now we're like – what do we do with our animals?"
The family's concerns go beyond just the dogs. Mrs. Stanush babysits some pre-school relatives. "I have a four year-old nephew who is all boy," says Missy.
They've been corresponding with representatives from the various construction companies, and a spokeswoman for Bluebonnet Contractors and Trinity Infrastructure said that it has been working with the family for several months.
But the sound wall is a noise barrier and not a fence, she says, and it's one of 14 sound walls strategically placed along the freeway to best meet environmental standards.
She recommends homeowners build their own privacy fences if they need extra security.
The construction companies add that they believe TxDOT and the city of Dallas may have plans to replace trees taken down along the LBJ corridor, but the exact nature of those plans is currently unclear.
