Blinded by the light? Homeowner upset with WSDOT after lamp post goes up near window

BOTHELL, Wash. -- Crews are working to widen and add express toll lanes to I-405 from Lynnwood to Bothell. One homeowner living near the highway says the traffic backup from the road work is the least of his concerns.

Living adjacent to I-405 in Bothell, Minh Pham says he has grown accustom to sounds of traffic and construction.

“They're working night and day and so we are enduring some of the vibrations,” said Pham.

Even the retaining wall blocking his view of trees is something he has come to accept, but when WSDOT installed a light pole right behind his property, he decided enough is enough.

“At least before you could look up and see the tree line and an open view of the tree line and the sunset; now you look up and your eye catches onto the pole that's just sitting right there,” said Pham.

WSDOT said contractors installed the lights per safety standards, and each one is placed strategically, but Pham isn’t buying it.

“Common sense would have said maybe we shouldn't put this in front of somebody's home,” said Pham.

Pham has taken his concerns to the neighborhood’s homeowners association, the project managers, and WSDOT itself. He’s now been told contractors have ordered shields to reduce the amount of light entering people’s homes, doing little to brighten Pham’s outlook on the project.

“It's like you are at a Mariners game and you are sitting at one of those seats with a pole right in front of you and you can't really see the game; that's why they sell those tickets for less,” said Pham.

WSDOT representatives said moving this light pole isn’t an option at this point.

Pham and his neighbors fear the pole will reduce the value of their home.