Ottakee Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 The continuing saga of the state taking our land to put up a highway. There is a chance we could buy the house next door--a bit smaller but doable for our family and then pick up more land behind us---like up to 10-20 more arces. The land is very nice and we love the area we live in. The kicker would be that we would be the last house standing next to the highway. Right now it is just supposed to be a 2 lane but they are buying enough land to make it a 4 lane. If we moved next door there would be about 125 feet between our house and the fence line of the new road--with the bedrooms on the opposite side of the house. We just don't know if the noise and exhaust would be really bad as we would be downwind of it and there would be just a small set of trees between us and the highway unless we planted a lot more. This plan though would allow us to keep our horse barn and increase our acreage while staying in the same neighborhood. Just not sure it is worth living next to a highway. Any thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaT Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 We are, but we are about 400 feet back from the highway. Given the details you listed - lots of acreage, keeping your barn, etc., I think it definitely sounds like a good option for you. We planted a row of trees in front of our house (6 years ago) and they are now large enough that we do not even see the highway in the summer. The sound of the cars going by just turns into background noise. :001_smile:Granted you would be closer, but it sounds to me like it could work for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amy g. Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 I would not do it. We looked at some properties similar to what you are describing. I ended up paying more for less land in order to be off of the beaten path. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted January 22, 2011 Author Share Posted January 22, 2011 I would not do it. We looked at some properties similar to what you are describing. I ended up paying more for less land in order to be off of the beaten path. See, this would be off the beaten path and have great horseback riding areas---including several trails and a huge state recreation area that we can ride in. THey could not build up our area as it is just a cul de sac with no intersections, etc. The downside though is hearing/seeing the highway. I can see later if I can link a map with the highway and our parcel, what we would look at, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In The Great White North Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 We are the last house on our side of the road - there is one more on the other side - and we are about 400 ft away also. There was a Christmas tree farm in those 400 ft. and a row of willows between our property and theirs. In the summer, we cannot see the highway either. The noise is background noise, but it has increased in the last 5-10 years. I think they changed the composition/ tread pattern of truck tires. They are much louder than they used to be. There is not a whole lot of traffic, but that could change if the towns north of us developed. We love our house and our property, but it was on the market for 7 years before we bought it! And this was before the housing bubble burst. The house across the street (not the one next to the highway) took several years to sell also, and they were told repeatedly it was because of the highway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 That seems close to the highway to me--but I live about 550 ft away from US 1--it's 8 lanes across, but doesn't look like 95 or anything. We don't hear the traffic inside--outside, we do a bit. We have lots of trees in front and in back to dampen the noise. I would think about resale value, I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFSinIL Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 I would do it and as soon as moved in (moved over?) plant a lot more trees and, in front of them, shrubs. That way whenever the road is widened and more traffic comes, you have your "berm" in place already. Just make sure it is well out of the way of any needed road work, so the powers that be won't find an excuse to dig it up. Will there be much truck traffic on the road, though? Large trucks can be NOISY. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 Just not sure it is worth living next to a highway. I used to think I'd never do it. But, when forced to live near a hiway, I was surprised by 1) how I got used to it in hours. 2) how much I loved sitting in the dark and watching the lights go by. I'd stay, since you seem so attached to the area and you don't need a big move in your life right now....right? Can you plant a row of cedar and poplar or osage orange? I don't know your state. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 I think I'd be looking into things like lead coming from the highway into your soil and the like. I don't know details, but I remember reading something about playgrounds and preschools located right near highways having higher levels of lead exposure. If that was the case, it would be a huge problem for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 I think I'd be looking into things like lead coming from the highway into your soil and the like. I don't know details, but I remember reading something about playgrounds and preschools located right near highways having higher levels of lead exposure. If that was the case, it would be a huge problem for me. Where is the lead coming from? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halftime Hope Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 you said you are downwind, and that's the situation I'm in. I'm about 400 feet from a highway and I wouldn't do it if I had the chance to choose again. The noise doesn't bother us, and the location is *very* convenient. The downsides are that I'm downwind, and although I don't smell the exhaust (we get a lot of breeze in this area), I know it is at the very least a low-grade part of what we breathe constantly. When I'm driving on the highway behind another vehicle and our vents are open, I do smell it. (Cough, splutter!) That is not my only concern though, as I have read that rubber dust is also a hazard--it gets ground off of tires as vehicles drive and is airborne. I know we've experienced allergies in the past few years that we've never had to this degree, and I wonder if it isn't the fumes and the rubber overwhelming part of our immune system. We'll be downsizing and moving as soon as our children have left the nest, and they'll remember this house as the place where we were finally able to entertain and have their friends over all the time. I won't share my concerns with them and ruin it now. Could you see if the state would be willing to move your house to the far side of the new acreage that you buy so you'd be much further from the highway? that way, they might not have to pay you as much and you wouldn't have to buy a new house? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 The downsides are that I'm downwind, and although I don't smell the exhaust (we get a lot of breeze in this area), I know it is at the very least a low-grade part of what we breathe constantly. When I'm driving on the highway behind another vehicle and our vents are open, I do smell it. (Cough, splutter!) The solution to pollution is dilution! So, just how much traffic will there be?? I forgot that part of the equation. A car every 10 seconds, a car every 2 minutes, a rush hour and then very quiet? All day and all night? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LauraGB Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 (edited) Growth. Watch out for growth. Just over 10 years ago, we bought a house near the highway (one house next to us closer to the highway and then enough space for a future road to run alongside it, so I'm not sure how far away we are, but not that far), surrounded by fields and 6 other houses on our 3/4 mile stretch of road. Everyone had large yards and fields and the "newer" highway wasn't too terribly busy at that time. Fast forward to now - the highway is buzzing all day and all night; I don't know how many tens of thousands of cars pass by in a 24 hr period. Several years ago we planted pines that are just now tall enough to begin blocking the view, but the noise is still loud enough to have to yell (or at least speak very, very loudly) to be heard across the back yard. I am sitting in my bedroom right now and can clearly hear semis downshifting. I don't know if it makes a difference that the highway is an overpass, so it's higher by our house. And all those fields are now a subdivision and massive, gated condo/apartment compound, and a sprawling urban shopping area :glare:. I don't know what to tell you. You do get used to the sound to the point of just not really noticing it after a while. And the highway usage will only grow over time (as the land around you gets developed). There are a few olders who have been here forever that aren't giving up their land; around the corner we have a dairy farm across the street from a McDonalds and a new BP gas station - they are on a 4 lane county highway with department stores and strip malls surrounding it - it's odd. Edited January 22, 2011 by LauraGB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celticmom Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 When we first looked at the land our house is on now, we saw the for sale sign and the busy intersection nearby. At first we did not even look at the land because of the intersection. When we actually drove down the driveway and looked at the land for the first time we realized that we could not see or hear the traffic very well due to the trees and brush on the 100 feet of property closest to the road. We quickly fell in love with the property. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simka2 Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 Build a boarding facility!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 I grew up that way. My parents planted cedars, 3 staggered rows thick, as a visual barrier. They helped cut down the noise, though honestly you grow quite used to it very quickly. The house was set about 300 feet from the highway. I don't know that living next to a highway (with four lane potential) is my first pick for a house very close to a highway, but if I had a long driveway and the highway was still somewhat rural in nature, I'd go for it again. It certainly beats driving on gravel during snowy weather. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 Where is the lead coming from? That I don't know exactly; it's just something I read once a while ago, and I thought the OP ought to be aware of possible concerns so she could look into them further. Quick google finds: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/infrastructure/structures/98079/runoff.cfm http://www.stormh2o.com/september-2006/lead-stormwater-runoff.aspx http://www.michigan.gov/documents/MDOT_MS4_MDOT_Hwy_SW_Runoff_Study_91946_7.pdf (I really didn't read those very thoroughly, the last one at all, so the OP may want to do so to see if it's really a big issue or not. The top two seemed to indicate that lead and other heavy metals are concerns, but that was just with a quick glance, so I could be wrong.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LidiyaDawn Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 I wouldn't want to live anywhere near a highway - the noise, the exhaust, the accidents, everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elise1mds Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 My grandmother lived on a farm near a highway from 1975 till 1995, and it was never a huge issue because the house was set well back from the road and it wasn't a terribly busy highway (two lanes). There were lots of semis, though, and as kids, my sister and I used to LOVE to go sit out at the edge of the lawn and try to get them to honk. About 75% of them would. Nights were pretty quiet. I wouldn't mind living there, even now. However, if there was a lot of traffic or even the *potential* for it, I'd have a lot of thinking to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacy in NJ Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 Have you looked for other properties in the area away from the road? I'd seek out other options before deciding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted January 23, 2011 Author Share Posted January 23, 2011 We are looking at 3 more next week. It is hard as we are in a rural area but much of the township is swampy/low ground. There are very few places for sale with at least 5 acres that are off the busy roads. We have been very spoiled here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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