LOS ANGELES, Calif.–The Board of Airport Commissioners voted today to award $5.6 million in grant money to the city of El Segundo for soundproofing of homes and apartments in the Los Angeles International Airport adjacent community.
The grant will be combined with $12.8 million in Federal Aviation Administration funding and will soundproof more than 400 single- and multi-family units affected by takeoffs and landings at LAX.
The grant money is mandated by a 2006 lawsuit settlement that requires Los Angeles World Airports, a proprietary city department, to invest $266 million in five areas–including soundproofing–through 2016 in El Segundo, Inglewood and parts of Los Angeles County.
LAWA has given El Segundo about $20.5 million in sound-insulation grants for 1,030 units since the agreement in 2006. About 3,500 units in El Segundo still need to be soundproofed.
The grant money covers all acoustical, architectural, construction and engineering services necessary to make the improvements, which usually include installing double-paned windows, solid-core doors, fireplace doors, attic baffles and other insulation.
The average cost to soundproof a single-family home in El Segundo is about $45,000. Apartment buildings and condos typically run about $30,000 per unit.
Officials said the upgrades generally reduce the noise level by about one-half.
