Alameda Corridor and Los Angeles School Officials Celebrate Sound Wall Completion
SEPTEMBER 25, 2001
WATTS– Emphasizing safety and the need for a positive learning environment, Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority (ACTA) officials today joined officials from the Los Angeles Unified School District to celebrate the completion of a sound wall at Ritter Elementary School.
Built by ACTA contractors, the sound wall insulates students and teachers from traffic on Alameda Street and railroad cars on tracks adjacent to the Alameda Corridor rail cargo expressway. The sound wall is more than 10 feet tall and 400 feet long. It stretches from 111th Street to Santa Ana Boulevard, separating the rear of the school from Alameda Street.
“This sound wall allows our students to focus on what they are learning,” Principal Mary I. Stallings said. “I thank ACTA for partnering with us to help improve the learning environment.”
At the sound wall dedication event, school officials kicked off a program that challenges students to read 25 books by June 30, 2002. ACTA officials distributed pencils with the slogan: “Education: Corridor to Success.”
ACTA officials also emphasized safety. The agency has distributed pencils, rulers and other materials at area schools, reminding students to avoid construction zones, obey warning signs, and stay alert. For example, pedestrians should never walk around lowered railroad crossing arms.
“We are doing everything we can to ensure the safety of students and other residents of corridor communities while helping to provide an environment fit for learning,” ACTA Chief Executive Officer James C. Hankla said. “Child safety always comes first.”
The dedication event, staged on the school’s playground, was attended by students as well as officials from ACTA and the Los Angeles Unified School District.
ACTA, a partnership between the cities and ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, is building a 20-mile rail cargo expressway between the ports and the transcontinental rail yards near downtown Los Angeles. The project will improve the flow of goods through the ports and reduce traffic congestion by consolidating rail lines and eliminating traffic conflicts at more than 200 street-level railroad crossings. The project also re-connects communities by replacing at-grade rail crossings with grade-separated bridges.
In addition to the sound wall at Ritter Elementary, ACTA had previously completed sound walls at Compton Unified’s Frances Willard Elementary School and Tamarind Preschool and along a residential neighborhood in South Gate between Southern Avenue and Tweedy Boulevard east of the Alameda Corridor.