HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT BUILDS EXPERIMENTAL SOUND BARRIER

THE SOUND BARRIER CONSISTS OF A WOOD WALL ON A SOIL MOUND TO REDUCE THE HEIGHT OF WALL, WHICH VARIES FROM 5 TO 19 FEET. THE DESIGN CALLS FOR FIR POSTS, 6 X 6 INCHES AND 6 X 12 INCHES, WITH SPACINGS OF 8 AND 6 FEET. THE WALL FACINGS ARE OF 2 X 8 - INCH PINE BOARD ON BOTH SIDES. TO REDUCE THE VISUAL IMPACT OF THE WALL AND MAKE THE STRUCTURE MORE AESTHETICALLY ACCEPTABLE, THE HORIZONTAL ALIGNMENT OF THE BARRIER IS GENTLY CURVED AND VERTICAL IS STEPPED AT INTERVALS. EACH OF THE MOUNDINGS ARE PLACED ADJACENT TO THE WALLS WHERE RIGHT-OF-WAY AND TOPOGRAPHY PERMIT. TO NATURALIZE THE SLOPE AREAS AND INTEGRATE THE WALL INTO THE LNADSCAPE, A WOOD PRESERVATIVE OF GREENISH HUE HAS BEEN USED IN THE WALL, AND MASS PLANTINGS AND LANDSCAPING ARE PROVIDED ADJACENT TO THE WALL. SPECIAL PROVISIONS HAVE BEEN MADE FOR ESTABLISHMENT OF VEGETATION COVER. ADVERSE AND BENEFICIAL EFFECTS ARE DISCUSSED, AND INCLUDE CONSIDERATION OF THE PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS ON DRIVER BEHAVIOR, THE SAFETY HAZARD, THE PHYSIOLOGICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF NOISE, AND THE COST OF MAINTENANCE. THE PRELIMINARY TWO-PART STUDY INVOLVED A NEIGHBORHOOD INTERVIEW SURVEY AND COMPREHENSIVE NOISE LEVEL MEASUREMENT. THE REPORT INDICATED THAT THE AVERAGE NOISE LEVEL AT A STANDARD REFERENCE DISTANCE FOR A SIX-LANE FREEWAY WAS ABOUT 77 DBA DURING DAYTIME (7 A.M. TO 10 P.M.) AND 69 DBA DURING NIGHTTIME (10 P.M. TO 7 A.M.). AN IN-DEPTH STUDY TO DEVELOP FEASIBLE NOISE ABATEMENT PROCEDURES IS OUTLINED, AND ACOUSTICAL DESIGN REQUIREMENTS ARE DISCUSSED.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/oclc/1606878
• Corporate Authors:

  Public Works Journal Corporation

  200 South Broad Street
  Ridgewood, NJ  United States  07451
• Publication Date: 1972-11

Media Info

• Features: Figures;
• Pagination: p. 78-80
• Serial:
  • Public Works
  • Publisher: Hanley Wood
  • ISSN: 0033-3840
  • Serial URL: http://www.pwmag.com

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Barriers (Roads); Behavior; Design; Drivers; Environmental engineering; Experiments; Highways; Noise control; Psychological aspects; Roadside; Roadside improvement
• Uncontrolled Terms: Barriers
• Subject Areas: Design; Highways;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00203805
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jan 11 1974 12:00AM