A case study on acoustic performance and construction costs of noise barriers

In the study, the barriers used for reducing traffic noise are being examined in means of performance and construction cost. First a noise prediction is made in the sample highway under certain traffic conditions in order to determine the noise barrier requirement and the results are confirmed by measurement. According to the noise prediction equations used in Turkey, Germany and Canada, the effects of heavy vehicle ratio, average traffic flow speed and hourly total vehicle quantity change on noise level and barrier requirement are examined, so assessment can be made for highways having different traffic specifications than the sample highway. In the continuation of the study, the working principle of noise barriers and effects of barrier position and height on reducing noise are researched in order to determine the construction costs of barriers in Turkey and Canada at different heights and made from different materials.   Key words: Highway, noise barrier, noise prediction, performance, construction cost.