highway noise landscaping

[FLORENCE E. CROCKETT]

Am trying to help l75 families living adjacent to proposed subdivision which
eliminates all greenspace between houses & highway. Any advice on
berm/planting construction to eliminate noise , views and fumes? I remember
reading about CA info on freeway/subdivision requirements by municipalities,
but cannot find them. Any help a plus.

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[CicconiFms]

try any large evergreen, dense trees. Not sure where you are located. White
pines planted 10' centers, arborvatae, chamaecyparis, in the north canadian
hemlock, juniper, probably a 100 more good luck
Acc

[Sam Franc]

Where are you located/ That makes a big difference.
How much room do you have to work with?
The CA highway dept solution is a big failure as far as I am concerned.
Very ugly!!!!!!!
And does not do the job. The noise is really not abated.
Those high concrete walls just block the view not the noise.
And it is like driving in a tunnel. Very boring.

[Englishla]

>HTML><PRE>Subject: highway noise landscaping
>From: croc...@capeonramp.com ("FLORENCE E. CROCKETT")
>Date: Sat, Nov 21, 1998 07:37 EST
>Message-id: <f8z52.1270$Ey.1963834@WReNphoon2>

>
>Am trying to help l75 families living adjacent to proposed subdivision which
>eliminates all greenspace between houses & highway. Any advice on
>berm/planting construction to eliminate noise , views and fumes? I remember
>reading about CA info on freeway/subdivision requirements by municipalities,
>but cannot find them. Any help a plus.
>
>
>

Earth and solid barriers are your best noise/etc. buffer. The Wash. DC beltway
is undergoing such retrofitting, as are parts of the Balt. beltway. Try
contacting the Md D.O.T. for design specs. Re: white pines (in prev. post);.
White pines are not particularly pollution tolerant. They are not a recommended
highway buffer tree in urban areas.
engl...@aol.com (A. English)

[Donald J. Dickson]

In article <19981121222355...@ng137.aol.com>,
engl...@aol.com (Englishla) wrote:

> >From: croc...@capeonramp.com ("FLORENCE E. CROCKETT")
> >

> >Am trying to help l75 families living adjacent to proposed subdivision which
> >eliminates all greenspace between houses & highway. Any advice on
> >berm/planting construction to eliminate noise , views and fumes?
> >
>

> Earth and solid barriers are your best noise/etc. buffer.

Correct. You need mass to absorb and deflect noise energy. Earth berms and
solid heavy walls do the best job. Something you might also wish to
consider is to apply a noise barrier to the house itself. A layer of
exterior insulation like fiberglass cladding (GlasClad) does a wonderful
job of absorbing moise before it enters the building by creating a
separation of the exterior from the fram(studs) which carried the noise
through the wall. I upgraded the insulation in my old house by putting a 1
1/2 " layer of compresseed fiberglass panels under the the existing
siding(sorry it's not feasible if you are dealing with brick cladding) and
the effect was astounding. I used to be lulled to sleep by the thump of
the drum at a bar half a block away even with the windows closed when they
opened their back doors in the summer. After the insulation was added I
didn't even know they were there.

--
Don Dickson

Remove first "x" from xcx666 to reply by email.

[craz...@my-dejanews.com]

Studies I have seen suggest you need a vegatative wall 30ft thick to lower
decibel levels...your state DOT should be able to help...perhaps it's in the
ASHTO standards??

In article <19981121222355...@ng137.aol.com>,
engl...@aol.com (Englishla) wrote:

> >HTML><PRE>Subject: highway noise landscaping

> >From: croc...@capeonramp.com ("FLORENCE E. CROCKETT")

> >Date: Sat, Nov 21, 1998 07:37 EST
> >Message-id: <f8z52.1270$Ey.1963834@WReNphoon2>
> >

> >Am trying to help l75 families living adjacent to proposed subdivision which
> >eliminates all greenspace between houses & highway. Any advice on

> >berm/planting construction to eliminate noise , views and fumes? I remember
> >reading about CA info on freeway/subdivision requirements by municipalities,
> >but cannot find them. Any help a plus.
> >
> >
> >
>
> Earth and solid barriers are your best noise/etc. buffer. The Wash. DC beltway
> is undergoing such retrofitting, as are parts of the Balt. beltway. Try
> contacting the Md D.O.T. for design specs. Re: white pines (in prev. post);.
> White pines are not particularly pollution tolerant. They are not a
recommended
> highway buffer tree in urban areas.
> engl...@aol.com (A. English)
>

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[JIlli66405]

I recall reading somewhere evergreens work the best for noise control.

[Robbie]

If you can, install some soil berms. While plants can absorb sound, soil is
far more effective. I live beside a county road and build some berms when I
did some landscaping a few years back. Planted them with pine trees and tall
wildflowers. Very effective visual screen. Moderate sound screen - you need
lots of space to effectovely screen highway noise. A tall solid fence is
probably the most space efficient noise barrier.

Rob

[Peter T. Gompper]

I second the below motion. Berms worked wonders for both the esthetics
and sound barrier requirements of our property. Advise: Best to spend a
little extra on good soil; i,e more on the clay side is better than too
much on the sandy side.

Peter