Highway Noise Barriers: 1994 Survey of Practice

Abstract

Highway traffic noise is an ever-increasing problem for transportation agencies. The challenge presented to transportation agencies is to incorporate noise abatement into the highway environment without compromising the aesthetic integrity of the surrounding communities. In an effort to guide highway designers, a survey of practice was sent to all state transportation agencies and their equivalents in Puerto Rico and Ontario, Canada. The portions of the survey regarding noise-barrier materials, aesthetic visual quality in design, and public involvement in the design process are discussed in this paper. The literature review revealed a long-standing effort throughout Europe to incorporate many aesthetic features into noise-barrier systems and to use public preferences to guide design. Many new products that provide aesthetically pleasing noise barriers, in addition to the noise-level reductions required of transportation agencies, are now available. Innovative and versatile methods of using standard materials, such as concrete, have provided a continual supply of barrier designs. A multidisciplinary collaboration (including citizen representatives) in the design process has proved to be an effective method of ensuring that the best design is implemented for both sides of the highway environment. Collectively, transportation agencies, private industry, and institutional research programs should work together to advance the knowledge available in noise research and to further develop the aesthetic visual quality of the highway environment.