BATON ROUGE — For 14 years, the constant drone of Interstate 10 has been a familiar sound for residents in a neighborhood nearby. Steve Quartano, who lives in the area, described the persistent noise from the busy highway.

"There’s going to always be cars that pass by, so there’s going to be some sound," Quartano said.

However, recent construction has brought hope for quieter days. The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development is putting up a sound wall in the area.

"Oh, I was elated," Quartano said. "We were hoping for that for some time. Couldn’t understand why they didn’t put one up when they put the sound wall up before."

While concrete sound walls are common in more populated areas of the city, a new barrier taking shape near the College Drive exit is somewhat unique. According to DOTD, this sound wall is made of acrylic.

Rodney Mallet with DOTD said the acrylic material was chosen as the best fit for this specific location after a recent sound study and it helps save room.

"Not only does it serve the purpose of blocking the sound, it’s crash tested, it looks nice, and it fits on those barrier walls," Mallet said.

DOTD officials caution that the sound wall will not eliminate all highway noise. However, they anticipate it will significantly minimize the loud buzzing for homeowners in the vicinity.