NJ Quiet Pavement Noise Analysis

Reduction of tire/pavement noise, has been considered a possible solution to help mitigate highway noise near the source. Quiet pavements have been developed, such as open-graded pavements, but as with all pavement types, are known to become louder with age. An evaluation of tire/pavement noise, utilizing the on-board sound intensity method has been conducted over the last five years to determine the magnitude of the noise increase, the rate of that change, and how the spectral frequency changed in quiet pavements over time. The increase in low frequency variability associated with each of the pavements was attributed to pavement distress as the pavement ages, which is the dominant contributor to overall level increases. This paper will discuss measured overall noise levels, evaluate the change in one-third octave band frequency levels, and show the rate of the noise level increase for NJ quiet pavements.