Residents of the townhouses on Gooseberry Way cope with the noise from Cedar Avenue as traffic zips by just beyond their back yards.

Chris Keller turns up the television. Mary Baumgart sits outside early in the morning. And Christine Ubban just tunes it out.

"I've become conditioned to it over the years," Ubban said.

None of them would mind if the noise could be muted. Finding a way to do that, however, is not easy.

And as Dakota County prepares for its overhaul of Cedar Avenue to make way for bus rapid transit, the difference of opinions among neighbors -- some say put up a noise wall while others don't want to lose existing trees and open space -- mirrors the debate between local and federal agencies orchestrating the project.

Until a noise pollution solution is reached, $22.5 million and a tight construction timetable hang in the balance.

The Dakota County Regional Rail Authority and Apple Valley City Council both passed resolutions solidifying their stance against any sort of noise wall along the corridor. They worry about the construction cost and upkeep and are concerned that walls similar to those that border freeways will ruin the ambiance they envision for the future transit corridor.

"We don't want a tunnel," Dakota County Commissioner Will Branning said. "We're trying to get to be a walking community, walking and bicycling instead of automobiles."

But the Federal Highway Administration says something must be done in two locations along Cedar Avenue, and if a wall is the best solution, so be it. In a letter to the county this month, the agency noted that wooden walls can't be ruled out based on aesthetics alone. It said walls would curb noise pollution at the two required sites.

And federal wishes have to be heeded, or $22.5 million in federal funding for the bus rapid transitway will disappear.

"No decision on the remedy has been made, but we have identified that there is a problem that needs to be addressed," said Doug Hecox, a spokesman for the federal agency.

The county has asked local congressional representatives to help, and next week, staff from U.S. Rep. John Kline's office will meet with county officials to discuss transportation issues, including the noise wall.

There isn't much time to hammer out details of the $82 million first phase of the transit project. To meet deadlines the county must acquire right-of-way this winter and start construction in 2010.

But property can't be purchased until the federal agency signs off on an environmental assessment that includes a solution for noise pollution north of 160th Street and south of 153rd Street.

"It's something we wanted to have done and finalized and approved by now," said Kristine Elwood, the county's Cedar Avenue project manager.

One wall on the west side of Cedar Avenue and south of 153rd Street would be 20 feet high and 370 feet long. It would cost about $152,000 if constructed of basic materials like wood and concrete.

The wall behind the homes on Gooseberry Way -- 700 feet long and 10 feet high on top of an earthen berm -- would cost an estimated $196,000 to $460,225. The price would vary based on how much support the wall needs.

Baumgart, skeptical of the whole bus rapid transit project, really doesn't want to lose the bit of nature she has now.

"If this wall goes in the way they show it, it's going to go right through my strand of trees," she said.

Keller doubts the wall would be effective but is willing to give it a try.

"We already have a berm with trees, and it does nothing," he said. "As long as it's kept up and doesn't look crummy, I'm fine with it."

Katie Humphrey • 952-882-9056