The owners of a Covina home filed court papers against Caltrans Tuesday, alleging a construction project on the nearby San Bernardino (10) Freeway has caused unbearable noise and significant damage to their property.
In a Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit submitted Tuesday but still waiting to be officially filed, Donald Meier and Evelia Ramirez say work on the addition of an HOV lane to the freeway has sent “shockwaves” to their home and caused cracks throughout the property, including the driveway, front and back patios, their interior floors and in their pool, prompting leaks.
The plaintiffs are seeking unspecified damages in their court papers. They allege nuisance, trespass and inverse condemnation, saying the damage amounts to a “taking” of their property by Caltrans.
A Caltrans representative could not be immediately reached for comment.
The HOV lane project will span the length of the freeway near its junction with the Orange (57) Freeway, near the plaintiffs’ home, and the San Gabriel River (605) Freeway to the west, according to the suit. Work on the segment of the freeway near the plaintiffs’ home began in the spring of 2016 and is expected to be done in the summer of 2021, according to their court papers.
Construction has required the demolition, widening and reconstruction of bridges, overcrossings and sound and retaining walls, according to the plaintiffs’ court papers.
Noise reduction efforts taken by Caltrans during construction are inadequate and a new sound wall does not extend far enough to protect the plaintiffs’ property from the clamor, the plaintiffs’ court papers state.
Some of the work has required the removal of trees and landscaping, causing noise from the freeway to increase significantly and make the plaintiffs’ property uninhabitable at times, according to the plaintiffs’ court papers.