By erecting a transparent sound barrier, the Virginia Department of Transportation will turn down the volume on traffic traveling the new Woodrow Wilson Bridge. VDOT will extend the transparent barrier 1,550 feet onto the bridge on the northside of I-95/I-495 to protect the historic Old Town neighborhoods of Alexandria, Va. Starting at the bridge's abutment, adjacent to St. Mary's School, and extending east over Jones Point Park, the maximum 17-ft.-high sound barrier will be constructed of ½-in.-thick, 5-ft. 6-in.-high panels of transparent acrylic material called Paraglas. Protected from UV rays to prevent yellowing, the material is also graffiti-resistant and easily cleaned.

“The see-through sound barrier is the result of several months of creative input and coordination between VDOT, Maryland State Highway Administration, the City of Alexandria and many other groups,” notes Ronaldo Nicholson, VDOT's project manager for the Woodrow Wilson Bridge construction on Virginia's side. Approved by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) last month, coordination to select the most appropriate type and design of barrier also involved FHWA, the National Capital Planning Commission, the U.S. Commission on Fine Arts, Wilson Bridge Design Review Working Group and the Ad Hoc Committee of the Design Competition Selection Panel.