WINDSOR LOCKS, Conn. (AP) – The state plans to fill in cracks, install soundproof windows and make other improvements in about 400 homes near Bradley International Airport in hopes of easing noise complaints.
A more radical idea is being eyed for noise abatement near the smaller but growing Waterbury-Oxford Airport in Middlebury: to buy the adjacent neighborhood and demolish all 71 homes at a cost of $25 million.
In both cases, state aviation officials are trying to balance the needs of the growing airports against the rights and comfort of homeowners nearby.
Near Bradley, scores of residents whose homes are under flight paths in Windsor Locks, Suffield, Windsor and East Granby say that vibrations caused by noise from overhead jets has caused cracks in their walls and other damage.
The state plans to seal the homes by filling in cracks, installing soundproof windows and doors, and perhaps even central air conditioning. The repairs will be offered to those living where noise levels average 65 decibels or greater.
Based on a study by airport consultants, officials will start installing sound insulation next summer on 10 pilot houses and work down the list of other homes. The Federal Aviation Administration is expected to pick up 80 percent of the $7.5 million tab.
“This is all about trying to keep the noise out as much as possible and making it more comfortable for the residents,” said Kerry Ahearn, the airport’s noise abatement officer.
Linda Sindler, whose home in Suffield is less than a mile from the airport, said she and her husband, Burl, are excited about the potential improvements. Their home has sustained several wall and ceiling cracks because of the noise, and the vibrations often shake and break the bulbs in their outside light fixtures, they said.
“I’ll be able to get a full night’s sleep, and I’ll actually get to entertain inside my house,” Linda Sindler said.
Several airports across the country already have taken advantage of the federal funding to create noise abatement programs.
Boston’s Logan International Airport, for example, conducted nearly $90 million in noise abatement construction on more than 7,300 homes in its flight paths.
For neighbors around the Waterbury-Oxford Airport, however, the future is less certain.
That strip, the only airport in the region able to handle corporate jets, is the subject of a $61 million upgrade plan that includes runway updates, new hangars and noise control.
The proposal to buy and level the 71-home adjacent neighborhood is one of several ideas in the state’s master plan and noise abatement proposal, which will be presented in a public hearing Wednesday.
The final product goes to the Federal Aviation Administration for review and approval.
Some residents worry that if their homes and purchased and leveled, they won’t be able to afford to stay in Middlebury.
“I don’t want to break up the neighborhood,” resident Greg Scholl said. “On the other hand, nobody told us we were moving into a runway protection zone.”
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