(AP) -- ROYAL OAK, Mich. (AP) - The sound barrier along Interstate 696 in suburban Detroit is being broken, but not by fast-moving traffic. Portions of the red brick wall designed to reduce noise where the freeway cuts through a Royal Oak neighborhood buckled and crumbled back in October. The state made repairs, but another part of the wall partially collapsed several days ago.
City Commissioner Michael Andrzejak blames the problem on faulty engineering by the Michigan Department of Transportation. He says repeated repairs are wasting taxpayer dollars. Transportation Department spokesman Rob Morosi says a maintenance crew will clean up the debris. A consulting firm will survey the damage and recommend a short-term fix while the department plans for long-term repairs.
But Morosi tells The Daily Tribune that finding money for the job will be "arduous."
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