Computer Model for Highway Noise Prediction

Noise has become a major problem of the urban environment. Highway traffic is a primary source of urban noise. To protect this aspect of the urban environment, it is important for the highway planner to have effective and efficient tools for predicting the noise levels resulting from new facilities. While considerable research has provided a basis for the prediction of such noise levels, an efficient method for accomplishing such predictions has not been generally available. This paper describes a computer program that has been developed for predicting highway noise. Based on characteristics of the highway geometrics, the traffic using the facility, and the adjacent environment, a series of noise level contours are produced. These contours may be compared to area land-use maps for the purpose of evaluation and design. An example problem is solved to illustrate the use of the program.