Prediction of the traffic noise around newly constructed highways

For more accurate prediction on the impact of noise of highways under construction and newly constructed highways on the nearby environment, and to find effective way to protect sensitive points near these highways, models suitable for the construction period and operation period were established according to the modes of noise influence on the environment and China´s “Specifications of environmental impact evaluation on road construction projects”. The models were used for the evaluation of noise level and environmental impact on the section from Cangzhou to Qiantong of Beijing-Shanghai highway, in construction and operation periods. The results show that in the highway construction period, noise may decrease to the standard level at 100 m away from the construction site in the daytime, while at night it needs 400 m to reach the same level. Results for the operation periods show that there are four acoustic environment sensitive points along the main line. These results indicated that the models can used to predict the impact of the ambient noise of highway construction projects.