Noise predictions and measurements have been made during the earthworks phase of a road construction scheme in order to illustrate the roles that noise prediction and measurement can play in assessing noise control strategies in earthworks operations. Measurements over periods of six hours or more showed that levels at the site boundary ranged from 70 to 83 db(a) and at 30 m from the boundary ranged from 62 to 75 db(a). the main earthworks operations occupied between 10 and 20 days in any one location. It is shown that the method of prediction developed at trrl is accurate to within an rms error of 2 db(a) provided that certain details on the machinery to be used, the intensity of operations and the local features of the site which affect noise propagation are known. It is suggested that, in practice, where such details are not known accurately before the start of operations the prediction method can be used to identify noise sensitive areas where noise controls may be needed and to determine appropriate noise monitoring strategies to be carried out during the construction work. (Author/publisher)
Abstract