For more than four decades, the neighborhoods of the San Fernando Valley adjacent to the 170 Freeway have been in desperate need of sound walls to minimize interference with their homes and lives. I am delighted to report that construction will begin next year on 30,000 feet of new sound walls along the 170 Freeway from Sherman Way to the 101 Freeway and on the 405 Freeway in the Valley. These sound walls will make a critical difference in keeping freeway noise at a tolerable level and decreasing freeway health impacts. They will improve the quality of life for residents and increase property values.Since my election to the State Assembly in 2006, I have fought hard to secure funding for the sound walls, which has been a long and challenging process. In 2009, after many meetings and phone calls with my office, the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) agreed to dedicate $4.6 million to design and engineer the sound walls. Still, the $90 million required for actual construction proved elusive. After my election to the Los Angeles City Council in 2010, I continued to search high and low for ways to secure the money needed to construct the walls.The many years of hard work just paid off. As a member of the Metro Board of Directors, I led the charge and got the full Board to approve funding to construct the sound walls. Metro will revise and update the design and engineering work it did six years ago and then secure a contractor to carry out the project. This is a big win for Valley residents who deserve a greater measure of peace and quiet in their communities. I will continue to monitor the project closely and pledge to do everything I can to ensure that it proceeds on schedule.If you have questions or need further information on this or any other matter, please contact me by phone at my North Hollywood office: 818.755.7676 or my City Hall office: 213.473.7002, or email me at [email protected].