TIRE/PAVEMENT NOISE STUDY

i DISCLAIMER The contents of this report reflect the views of the authors who are responsible for the facts and accuracy of the data presented herein. ABSTRACT In today's society, traffic noise is a serious problem. The term " noise " should not be confused with the term sound. Noise is the generation of sounds that are unwanted. With respect to traffic, noise would be the generation of sounds that affect the quality of life for persons near roadways. Therefore, traffic noise can be considered an environmental pollution because it lowers the standard of living. Research in Europe and in the United States has indicated that it is possible to build pavement surfaces that will reduce the level of noise generated on roadways. Use of hot mix asphalt to reduce noise levels could potentially save millions of dollars by reducing the number or height of noise wall barriers alongside highways. For this reason, in January of 2002 the National Center for Asphalt Technology initiated a research study with the objective to develop safe, quiet and durable asphalt pavement surfaces. This paper provides a basic understanding of the nature of noise, how it is measured, and how the vehicle and the pavement affect noise. The paper recommends that research be done to refine the correlation between near-field noise measurements (such as close-proximity noise testing) and roadside noise measurements, that a better understanding of the nature of the absorptive characteristics of noise be developed, and that field test sections be built to evaluate various methods for designing and building low noise pavements.