The noise generated by road traffic must be determined using the official scheme for Calculation and Measurement of Traffic noise (RMV) 1981, in accordance with that set out in the Dutch Noise Pollution Act. The calculation method given in the RMV does not correctly take into account the effect of the road surface type on the noise production of traffic. Therefore insufficient attention is afforded to the wide range of low-noise road surfacing types, which have been developed over the last few years. This is one of the reasons that a CROW working party, working in collaboration with various experts in the field of acoustics, has put together a method of implementing the acoustic properties of various different types of road surface in the RMV. This also applies to new types of road surfaces which are yet to be developed. This method is known as C-road-surface. This publication primarily describes the acoustic study carried out in order to compile data. An analysis of these results in a number of coefficients which are able to give an indication of the noise abatement effects of various types of road surfacing over a number of years in relation to the reference road surface type. These results are then processed in a subsequently defined proposition for the C-road-surface method. With this an indication is also given of which restrictions apply when using this method. The publication closes by offering a number of conclusions and recommendations.
Abstract