FHWA model predicts noise impacts

Highway traffic noise has been a federal, state, and local problem since even before the first noise barrier was built in 1963. Over the years, community and motorist concerns have fueled the push to improve noise measurement and modeling tools that aid transportation agencies in addressing the highway traffic noise problem. This article looks at one such tool, the Federal Highway Administration Traffic Noise Model (FHWA TNM), a new state-of-the-art computerized model for predicting noise impacts in the vicinity of highways. The FHWA TNM uses advances in acoustics and computer technology to improve the accuracy and ease of modeling highway traffic noise, including the design of efficient, cost-effective highway noise barriers. The features and modeling components of the FHWA TNM are described herein.