TranSafety, Inc.
(360) 683-6276
Fax: (360) 335-6402
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Road Management & Engineering Journal |
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August 1999 TranSafety, Inc. (360) 683-6276 Fax: (360) 335-6402 |
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Freeway noise is a nationwide problem of massive proportions. NDOT is very
concerned about this problem and during the past year we have formulated a program
to mitigate in a cost-effective manner the noise impact along the worst sections of
Nevada’s freeways.
This is a very expensive problem. In Nevada, the cost to construct the ultimate
soundwall – 14 feet tall to block the noise from heavy truck stacks of 11.5 feet – along
all freeways through urban areas would be more than $500 million. Clearly, such $6
million-dollar-a-mile projects are unaffordable in view of the demands for projects to
provide congestion relief, safety improvements and highway maintenance in the
nation’s fastest growing state. To identify less expensive methods of mitigating noise,
NDOT initiated an experimental soundwall retrofit program and is now in the process of
adopting a long-range noise mitigation program for existing freeways.
The proposed Nevada Freeway Noise Mitigation Program will have an annual
allocation of funds to address the problem over a period of years. Only cost-effective
soundwalls in highway noise areas will be built. Money will be leveraged by asking
local governments to match state funds since they share responsibility by virtue of their
approval of freeway alignments and control of adjacent development. Local financial
participation also is expected to keep demands reasonable. Local ordinances also
would have to be passed to require developers to provide noise mitigation in new
developments. This would stop the proliferation of the problem. The Noise Mitigation
Program will give priority to areas of highest noise, highest residential density, and
which were existing prior to the freeway construction.
