John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (U.S.)

United States. National Park Service

Tech Report

United States. National Park Service

AGR-IMPACTS-Environment ; AGR-PUBLIC AND TRIBAL LANDS-PUBLIC AND TRIBAL LANDS ; NTL-ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT-Environment Impacts ; NTL-HIGHWAY/ROAD TRANSPORTATION-Pavement Management and Performance ;

Death Valley National Park provided an environment that allowed a demonstration of

quieter pavement use. Sound measurements near the tire-pavement interface, near the

road, and in areas of frequent human use were conducted and analyses performed in order

to determine the general sound environment in the park and the potential benefit of

using quieter pavements. Tire-pavement noise data were collected using the on-board

sound intensity (OBSI) methodology, where sound levels for 15+ locations were

identified. The OBSI levels for specific pavements in Death Valley were then used in a

special research version of the FHWA Traffic Noise Model® (TNM®) in order to predict the

potential effect of using quieter pavements at the park.

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Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, Technical Reference Center