Evaluating Pavement Strategies and Barriers for Noise Mitigation (2013)

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N A T I O N A L C O O P E R A T I V E H I G H W A Y R E S E A R C H P R O G R A M NCHRP REPORT 738 Evaluating Pavement Strategies and Barriers for Noise Mitigation Paul R. Donavan IllIngworth & rodkIn, Inc. Petaluma, CA Linda M. Pierce ApplIed pAvement technology Santa Fe, NM Dana M. Lodico lodIco AcoustIcs, llc Englewood, CO Judith L. Rochat u.s. dot/rItA/volpe center AcoustIcs FAcIlIty Cambridge, MA Harvey S. Knauer envIronmentAl AcoustIcs, Inc. Lemoyne, PA Subscriber Categories Environment  •  Pavements TRANSPORTAT ION RESEARCH BOARD WASHINGTON, D.C. 2013 www.TRB.org Research sponsored by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration

NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM Systematic, well-designed research provides the most effective approach to the solution of many problems facing highway administrators and engineers. Often, highway problems are of local interest and can best be studied by highway departments individually or in cooperation with their state universities and others. However, the accelerating growth of highway transportation develops increasingly complex problems of wide interest to highway authorities. These problems are best studied through a coordinated program of cooperative research. In recognition of these needs, the highway administrators of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials initiated in 1962 an objective national highway research program employing modern scientific techniques. 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C O O P E R A T I V E R E S E A R C H P R O G R A M S AUTHOR ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This research was performed under NCHRP Project 10-76 by Illingworth & Rodkin, Inc. (I&R). The research team included members from the U.S. Department of Transportation John A. Volpe National Transportation System Center, Applied Pavement Technology, Environmental Acoustics, Inc., and Lodico Acoustics, LLC. Dr. Paul R. Donavan, Senior Consultant at I&R, was the Principal Investigator. Information on agency highway noise policies, practices, and project case studies was provided by Bruce Rymer and James Andrews of the Division of Environmental Analysis, California Department of Transportation; Gregory Smith and Joseph Rauseo of the Human Environment Unit, North Carolina Department of Transportation; Fred Garcia of the Environmental Planning Section, Arizona Department of Transportation; and Ryan McNeill of the Massachusetts Highway Department. CRP STAFF FOR NCHRP REPORT 738 Christopher W. Jenks, Director, Cooperative Research Programs Crawford F. Jencks, Deputy Director, Cooperative Research Programs Amir N. Hanna, Senior Program Officer Andréa Harrell, Senior Program Assistant Eileen P. Delaney, Director of Publications Natalie Barnes, Senior Editor NCHRP PROJECT 10-76 PANEL Field of Materials and Construction—Area of Specifications, Procedures, and Practices Matthew W. Mueller, Illinois DOT, Springfield, IL (Chair) Mia Waters, Washington State DOT, Seattle, WA Kevin K. McGhee, Virginia DOT, Charlottesville, VA David E. Newcomb, Texas A&M Transportation Institute, College Station, TX (formerly with the National Asphalt Pavement Association) Kenneth D. Polcak, Maryland State Highway Administration, Baltimore, MD Bruce C. Rymer, California DOT, Sacramento, CA Larry A. Scofield, International Grooving and Grinding Association, Mesa, AZ (formerly with the American Concrete Pavement Association) Adam T. Alexander, FHWA Liaison Mark A. Ferroni, FHWA Liaison Frederick Hejl, TRB Liaison

F O R E W O R D By Amir N. Hanna Staff Officer Transportation Research Board This report presents a methodology for evaluating feasibility, reasonableness, effective- ness, acoustic longevity, and economic features of pavement strategies and barriers for noise mitigation. The methodology uses life-cycle cost analysis (LCCA) to examine the economic features of mitigation alternatives, the FHWA Traffic Noise Model (TNM®) to integrate the noise reduction performance of pavements and barriers, and on-board sound inten- sity (OBSI) measurements as an input to the prediction model. This approach provides a rational basis for evaluating alternatives for noise mitigation. The material contained in the report will be of immediate interest to state engineers and others concerned with pavement design and construction and the noise impact on nearby communities. Noise barriers have been used for many years as a noise mitigation measure. These bar- riers are costly to build but they require minimal maintenance and maintain their noise reduction features for a substantially long period. Title 23, Part 772, of the Code of Federal Regulations requires that noise analysis be performed for specific types of projects when potentially impacted receptors are present. Noise barriers are considered when noise impacts are identified and when a noise abatement measure is constructible, provides a meaningful noise reduction, is cost reasonable to build, and is desired by the public. This regulation identifies several noise mitigation measures but excludes pavements as a noise abatement measure. Recent advances in quiet pavement technology have shown the potential for using such abatement technology as an alternative to noise barriers. However, issues such as cost, maintenance requirements, and the ability to maintain noise reduction features over time need to be addressed when considering quiet pavement technology. Research was needed to develop a methodology for evaluating the feasibility, reasonableness, effectiveness, and longevity of acoustic and economic features of pavement strategies and barriers used for noise mitigation. Such a methodology will demonstrate the potential of quiet pavement technology as a noise abatement measure and thus assist with the selection of the reduction measure or combination of measures that will provide the desired acoustic characteristics while yielding cost savings. Under NCHRP Project 10-76, “Methodologies for Evaluating Pavement Strategies and Barriers for Noise Mitigation,” Illingworth & Rodkin of Petaluma, California, worked with the objective of developing a methodology for evaluating the feasibility, reasonableness, effectiveness, acoustic longevity, and economic features of pavement strategies and barriers used for noise mitigation. To accomplish this objective, the researchers first reviewed the practices and processes for evaluating pavement strategies and barriers proposed for noise abatement. The researchers then evaluated potential methodologies and developed con- siderations for feasibility, reasonableness, effectiveness, acoustic longevity, and economic

features of pavement and barriers, and identified those issues that need to be considered in a rational methodology. This evaluation considered the relationship between OBSI and wayside measurements and TNM predictions; the noise reduction provided by both barri- ers and quieter pavement as a function of distance as well as the additional noise reduction provided by porous, sound-absorbing pavements; the variety of possible strategies includ- ing quieter pavement alone, barriers alone, and combined barriers and quieter pavement; the longevity of acoustic properties; and LCCA. Based on the results of the evaluation, a methodology that considers acoustic and eco- nomic features of both pavements and barriers was developed. The methodology uses OBSI data to quantify the noise levels of existing and future pavement projects and to assess the pavement acoustic performance over time, a modified version of TNM to determine cur- rent and future noise levels to analyze feasibility and reasonableness, and LCCA to evaluate the initial cost of abatement and cost of maintaining that performance over the life of the project. The methodology also incorporates a measure of the effectiveness of the result- ing predicted level of traffic noise. The developed methodology was then applied to sev- eral example cases that considered a variety of highway situations and scenarios involving quieter pavement only, barriers only, and combined pavement and barrier. These scenar- ios were evaluated for feasibility, reasonableness, effectiveness, and economic features with consideration of pavement acoustic longevity. Finally, the methodology was then refined based on the findings of these case studies. The appendices contained in the research agency’s final report provide elaborations and detail on several aspects of the research. These appendices are not published herein but are available on the TRB website (http://www.trb.org/Main/Blurbs/169200.aspx).

C O N T E N T S Note: Many of the photographs, figures, and tables in this report have been converted from color to grayscale for printing. The electronic version of the report (posted on the Web at www.trb.org) retains the color versions. 1  Summary  3 Chapter 1 Background and Research Approach 3 Background 4 Research Objective 5 Research Approach 5 Report Organization 7 Chapter 2   New Elements for the Highway Traffic Noise  Analysis Process 7 Overview of New Elements 7 On-Board Sound Intensity 14 FHWA Traffic Noise Model 15 Life-Cycle Cost Analysis 21 Chapter 3  Evaluation Parameters 21 Introduction 21 Feasibility 22 Reasonableness 22 Effectiveness 24 Acoustic Longevity 24 Economic Features 26 Chapter 4  Examples of Methodology Application 26 The Six-Lane Highway Scenario 26 Example 1: High-Density Case 33 Example 2: Low-Density Case 35 Example 3: Two-Barrier Case 39 Summary and Discussion 40 Chapter 5  State Project-Based Examples 40 Example A: I-580 Lane Addition 47 Example B: Lane Addition Projects on I-40 and I-485 53 Example C: New Highway Constructions and Realignments 57 Chapter 6  Summary and Suggested Research 57 Summary 59 Suggested Research 60  References 63 Appendices