EVALUATION OF HONEYCOMB HIGHWAY SOUND BARRIER, I-280, SECTION 8B, HARRISON, N.J.

The purpose of this study was to determine the insertion loss of a traffic noise barrier erected along I-280 in Harrison, N.J. This barrier was constructed of a phenolic-impregnated paper honeycomb core faced with aluminun panels on both sides, a type not previously used in New Jersey. Noise data was recorded both before and after barrier construction, from several microphonse placed at 5, 11.5, and 18 feet above the pavement of a dead-end street, at 75 and 150 feet from the center of the near lane. The highest microphone was at I-280 pavement level, since the road was elevated along the entire portion on which the barrier was built. Also recorded were traffic counts by type of vehicle for both eastbound and westbound traffic, and traffic speeds forr westbound traffic only. The noise data was reduced to obtain samples of Leq's for each microphone position. These were analyzed statistically using a non-parametric method to find the insertion loss for each position, along with 95% confidence limits. It was found that the barrier was moderately successful in reducing traffic noise, for the conditions of the study. For comparison purposes, small samples were randomly selected from the full-size samples and analyzed using the same method. It was found that the small sample results did not approximate those from the large samples to an acceptable degree. (Author)

Media Info

  • Features: Appendices; Figures; References; Tables;
  • Pagination: 47 p.

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 00396673
  • Record Type: Publication
  • Report/Paper Numbers: FHWA-NJ-85/004, 85-004-7799-10
  • Contract Numbers: NJ Study 3399-10
  • Files: TRIS, USDOT, STATEDOT
  • Created Date: Mar 31 1988 12:00AM