BURLINGTON - Proponents of sound barriers in Woburn and Burlington were out in force on Saturday as more than 200 people participated in rally at the Winn Street exit off Route 128.

"We had a huge turnout," said Woburn City Council member John Ciriello. "There were a lot of people from Woburn and a lot of people from Burlington who want their voices to be heard."

Ciriello, whose Ward 6 includes an impacted section of Route 128, and about half the City Council was on hand, along with Mayor Thomas McLaughlin, members of the Burlington Board of Selectmen, state representatives Charles Murphy of Burlington, Patrick Natale of Woburn, and state Sen. Robert Havern, whose district includes most of Woburn and all of Burlington.

The effort to petition the state for funding for sound barriers along sections of Route 128 in Burlington and Woburn and Route 93 in East Woburn picked up momentum earlier this year, mostly at the grassroots level.

Havern and Natale appeared at a Woburn City Council meeting to encourage residents to make their wishes be known, and in June the "Burlington Sound Barrier Committee" was formed.

Last month, more than 40 residents attended a strategy session, during which the idea for the rally this past weekend was devised. According to Ciriello, another rally is slated for Saturday, Dec. 2, between 9-10 a.m. at the Main Street rotary in Woburn (exit 35 off Route 128).

"We're trying to get several of these rallies going and then eventually march on the Statehouse to make our point," said Ciriello.

There is also a letter-writing campaign to the Mass. Highway Dept. planned.

Woburn City Council member Darlene Mercer-Bruen has been designated as a contact person for the effort. She can be reached at 781-937-3161 or bruen-n-bruen@comcast.net.

The Burlington Sound Barrier Committee has also established a website: www.burlingtonsoundbarriers.com.