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Would you buy a house that backs up to a major highway?
Just looking for some opinions. DH and I are very interested in a house, but it's biggest issue is that it will back up to the ICC. That part of the highway isn't quite finished yet, so it's hard to judge the actual noise, etc.
Between the house and the highway is a pretty big, private yard (probably .3 acres in the back), plus an equal amount of wooded land. And I believe there is a large concrete noise barrier/wall at the bottom of all of that.
We'll probably go see the house this weekend and get a better feel for the actual distance, but I was wondering if anyone else had lived in a house that was that close to a highway? For us, this would typically be a deal breaker, but it doesn't seem like the ICC will be nearly as congested or busy as 495 or 270, plus there's a pretty nice buffer. If we get there and see that there's no noise barrier, then it's absolutely a no-go.
Thoughts?
Re: Would you buy a house that backs up to a major highway?
Hmm, good point.
This. And, there is a growing body of evidence that living close to highways is tied to a variety of health problems due to the vehicle emissions, such as asthma and other respiratory diseases, especially in children. Several studies have been done that show that pollution from the ICC, in particular, may exceed levels considered healthy for children.
I had no idea - thanks!
Our house doesn't back directly up to but we can see 66. I would say that there is probably 1 to 2 acres between us and the highway with lots of trees but no physical barrier. We usually can't hear it inside of the house, but it is definitely a low hum from the yard. More frequently, we hear/see the helicopters heading to Inova Fairfax or when they're Medivacing (sp?) someone from an accident on 66. We don't really mind it, but wouldn't want to be any closer.
Like a PP mentioned, with the ICC not built yet I would be concerned about imminent domain issues and not knowing exactly where and how it will look compared to your yard.
It's nearly done, so you can see where the road will be. But who knows if they'll want to expand lanes in 20 years or whatever.
We just spent several months searching for a home in MoCo that was close to the beltway and 270 but not so close that we could hear it, but yet still be affordable. We looked at SO many that either had the noise barrier in the front or back yard, or were across the street from it. IMO, Even with larger than average lots, it definitely hurt the resale value of the houses, they were either on the market for much longer than others and/or they had a significantly lower price. From what I saw, even the lower price didn't help them sell.
I would really hesitate to buy that close to a major road. Even though the ICC isn't heavily used now, who knows what it will be like in 10 or 20 years (assuming you'd be staying in this house a long time). Like PP mentioned, I'd also be concerned about the air quality issues and other issues like what if a truck containing some hazardous material got in an accident right near your house? (rare, I know, but still crossed my mind).
ETA: I also thought the noise barriers did nothing for the noise - it was still really loud.
GL in your search!
I live1000ft from the beltway. I don't hear a thing. We hear the nearby surface street but never the interstate. There isn't a sound wall, either. There are obviously a lot of other things to think about, but on sound alone, I think you're fine. The loudest noise from roads is trucks downshifting/engine breaking, and I can't imagine a lot of that on the ICC.
When we were looking at houses when we moved 2 years ago it seemed like EVERYTHING that was in our pricerange in our area of interest was in very close proximity to the ICC. At that time, almost none of it had been built and was barely excavated, just a lot of orange mesh fencing that gave some idea as to where it would be.
We settled on a house in a development that is very close to the New Hampshire Ave. entrance/exit ramps of the ICC. There are several houses in our development that face into it, but there is a cross street and some woods between them and the actual highway. We are a bit further away as there are several houses between us and the cross street, but standing in front of my house and looking down the road, I can very clearly see where they have built the road, the exit ramps, etc. I am sure that once it is open and being used, that we will notice the difference - especially because they are not building soundwalls over here for some reason.
We're not all that concerned about the proximity - we are actually starting to get somewhat excited for it to open as it will really cut down on the time that it will take us to get to Rockville, Gaithersburg and 95 - all areas that we travel to often - but to be honest we definitely worry about the affect on resale - and we're not even on the same side as the highway.
We saw some nice houses that appeared that they would be closer than this one and we scratched them off our lists immediately because of their proximity. I know that you haven't seen the house yet, but do you know if the yard is fenced? Also, there has been talk about them building bike trails along the ICC - can you find out if that means that they would be behind your backyard (would there be people walking and biking behind your house)? Can you actually see the highway (or the clearing for it) from the backyard or would it be blocked by woods?
Good luck with your decision - especially if you love the house I'm sure it will be a tough one!
Oct15bride lives close to the beltway (maybe a block? not sure of actual distance...). I remember her husband telling me that they had to buy special noise proof windows because the sound was so bad.
Personally, if it were in a convenient location for me/DH's commute, I wouldn't mind living close. But, take that with a grain of salt... I grew up about 2 blocks from relatively frequently used freight train tracks (and the tracks were about 50-100 feet from my grandparent's house near a road crossing...). So, I can sleep through anything.
I live just a few blocks from University and Georgia, and it is amazing how loud it is. Luckily, I sleep better with some street noise.