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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. How Weather Affects the Noise You Hear from Highways. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25226.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. How Weather Affects the Noise You Hear from Highways. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25226.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. How Weather Affects the Noise You Hear from Highways. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25226.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. How Weather Affects the Noise You Hear from Highways. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25226.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. How Weather Affects the Noise You Hear from Highways. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25226.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. How Weather Affects the Noise You Hear from Highways. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25226.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. How Weather Affects the Noise You Hear from Highways. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25226.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2018. How Weather Affects the Noise You Hear from Highways. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25226.
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Below is the uncorrected machine-read text of this chapter, intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text of each book. Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.

2018 N A T I O N A L C O O P E R A T I V E H I G H W A Y R E S E A R C H P R O G R A M NCHRP RESEARCH REPORT 882 How Weather Affects the Noise You Hear from Highways Ken Kaliski Ryan Haac Daniel Brese Eddie Duncan RSG White River Junction, VT Darlene Reiter Rennie Williamson Geoff Pratt BowlBy & ASSociAteS Franklin, TN Erik Salomons tNo The Hague, Netherlands Roger Wayson John McDonald wyle Cottonwood Shores, TX John Zimmerman Jeff Snyder NoRtheASt wiNd Montpelier, VT Aaron Hastings Volpe ceNteR Cambridge, MA Subscriber Categories Design • Environment Research sponsored by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration

NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM Systematic, well-designed research is the most effective way to solve many problems facing highway administrators and engineers. Often, highway problems are of local interest and can best be studied by highway departments individually or in cooperation with their state universities and others. However, the accelerating growth of highway transportation results in increasingly complex problems of wide inter- est to highway authorities. These problems are best studied through a coordinated program of cooperative research. Recognizing this need, the leadership of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) in 1962 ini- tiated an objective national highway research program using modern scientific techniques—the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP). NCHRP is supported on a continuing basis by funds from participating member states of AASHTO and receives the full cooperation and support of the Federal Highway Administration, United States Department of Transportation. The Transportation Research Board (TRB) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine was requested by AASHTO to administer the research program because of TRB’s recognized objectivity and understanding of modern research practices. TRB is uniquely suited for this purpose for many reasons: TRB maintains an extensive com- mittee structure from which authorities on any highway transportation subject may be drawn; TRB possesses avenues of communications and cooperation with federal, state, and local governmental agencies, univer- sities, and industry; TRB’s relationship to the National Academies is an insurance of objectivity; and TRB maintains a full-time staff of special- ists in highway transportation matters to bring the findings of research directly to those in a position to use them. The program is developed on the basis of research needs identified by chief administrators and other staff of the highway and transportation departments, by committees of AASHTO, and by the Federal Highway Administration. Topics of the highest merit are selected by the AASHTO Special Committee on Research and Innovation (R&I), and each year R&I’s recommendations are proposed to the AASHTO Board of Direc- tors and the National Academies. Research projects to address these topics are defined by NCHRP, and qualified research agencies are selected from submitted proposals. Administration and surveillance of research contracts are the responsibilities of the National Academies and TRB. The needs for highway research are many, and NCHRP can make significant contributions to solving highway transportation problems of mutual concern to many responsible groups. The program, however, is intended to complement, rather than to substitute for or duplicate, other highway research programs. Published research reports of the NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM are available from Transportation Research Board Business Office 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 and can be ordered through the Internet by going to http://www.national-academies.org and then searching for TRB Printed in the United States of America NCHRP RESEARCH REPORT 882 Project 25-52 ISSN 2572-3766 (Print) ISSN 2572-3774 (Online) ISBN 978-0-309-39046-0 Library of Congress Control Number 2018947555 © 2018 National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. COPYRIGHT INFORMATION Authors herein are responsible for the authenticity of their materials and for obtaining written permissions from publishers or persons who own the copyright to any previously published or copyrighted material used herein. Cooperative Research Programs (CRP) grants permission to reproduce material in this publication for classroom and not-for-profit purposes. Permission is given with the understanding that none of the material will be used to imply TRB, AASHTO, FAA, FHWA, FMCSA, FRA, FTA, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology, PHMSA, or TDC endorsement of a particular product, method, or practice. It is expected that those reproducing the material in this document for educational and not-for-profit uses will give appropriate acknowledgment of the source of any reprinted or reproduced material. For other uses of the material, request permission from CRP. NOTICE The research report was reviewed by the technical panel and accepted for publication according to procedures established and overseen by the Transportation Research Board and approved by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The opinions and conclusions expressed or implied in this report are those of the researchers who performed the research and are not necessarily those of the Transportation Research Board; the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; or the program sponsors. The Transportation Research Board; the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; and the sponsors of the National Cooperative Highway Research Program do not endorse products or manufacturers. Trade or manufacturers’ names appear herein solely because they are considered essential to the object of the report.

The National Academy of Sciences was established in 1863 by an Act of Congress, signed by President Lincoln, as a private, non- governmental institution to advise the nation on issues related to science and technology. Members are elected by their peers for outstanding contributions to research. Dr. Marcia McNutt is president. The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964 under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences to bring the practices of engineering to advising the nation. Members are elected by their peers for extraordinary contributions to engineering. Dr. C. D. Mote, Jr., is president. The National Academy of Medicine (formerly the Institute of Medicine) was established in 1970 under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences to advise the nation on medical and health issues. Members are elected by their peers for distinguished contributions to medicine and health. Dr. Victor J. Dzau is president. The three Academies work together as the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to provide independent, objective analysis and advice to the nation and conduct other activities to solve complex problems and inform public policy decisions. The National Academies also encourage education and research, recognize outstanding contributions to knowledge, and increase public understanding in matters of science, engineering, and medicine. Learn more about the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine at www.national-academies.org. The Transportation Research Board is one of seven major programs of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The mission of the Transportation Research Board is to increase the benefits that transportation contributes to society by providing leadership in transportation innovation and progress through research and information exchange, conducted within a setting that is objective, interdisciplinary, and multimodal. The Board’s varied committees, task forces, and panels annually engage about 7,000 engineers, scientists, and other transportation researchers and practitioners from the public and private sectors and academia, all of whom contribute their expertise in the public interest. The program is supported by state transportation departments, federal agencies including the component administrations of the U.S. Department of Transportation, and other organizations and individuals interested in the development of transportation. Learn more about the Transportation Research Board at www.TRB.org.

C O O P E R A T I V E R E S E A R C H P R O G R A M S AUTHOR ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The authors wish to acknowledge the help and support of the Ridgeline Academy in Phoenix, Arizona, who allowed us to use their building to conduct meteorological measurements and organized an assembly of their students to learn about surface meteorology. We also want to thank the Arizona Department of Transportation, especially Angela Newton, for their cooperation with the data collec- tion efforts and for providing access to data from their continuous traffic counters. The research reported herein was performed under NCHRP Proj- ect 25-52. The prime contractor was RSG of White River Junction, Vermont. Kenneth Kaliski, P.E., INCE Bd. Cert. of RSG was the Project Manager and Principal Investigator. He was assisted at RSG by Dan Weinstein (currently Vice President of Operations at Edare Inc), Eddie Duncan (data analysis), Ryan Haac (data collection, data analysis, and database management), Isaac Old (data analysis and REMEL), Jeff Dumont (statistics), Daniel Brese (AERMET), and Kevin Hathaway (statistics). Dr. Erik Salomons of TNO (Netherlands) conducted Harmonoise and Parabolic Equation modeling, and he was pri- marily responsible for Appendices A and D. Dr. Roger Wayson, currently with AECOM, managed the field measurements, was responsible for Chapter 2, and Appendix B, and was a contribu- tor to the literature review in Appendix A and modeling sections of the report. Dr. Darlene Reiter, President of Bowlby & Associ- ates, was responsible for Chapters 4 and 5, and the brochure and PowerPoint outreach tools in Chapter 6 and Appendices E and F, with the assistance of Geoff Pratt and Rennie Williamson. Jeff Snyder, meteorologist/analyst with Northeast Wind, was respon- sible for the field meteorological measurements and John Zim- merman of Northeast Wind managed the meteorology program. Dr. Aaron Hastings of the Volpe Center assisted in the writing of Chapters 3 and 5, specifically as it relates to implementation of meteorology adjustments and implementation in TNM. Dr. John McDonald, working under Wyle and Volpe (currently with Gannet Fleming), was a primary contributor to the field measurements and data filtering. CRP STAFF FOR NCHRP RESEARCH REPORT 882 Christopher J. Hedges, Director, Cooperative Research Programs Lori L. Sundstrom, Deputy Director, Cooperative Research Programs Ann M. Hartell, Senior Program Officer Gary A. Jenkins, Senior Program Assistant Eileen P. Delaney, Director of Publications Natalie Barnes, Associate Director of Publications Margaret B. Hagood, Senior Editor NCHRP PROJECT 25-52 PANEL Field of Transportation Planning—Area of Impact Analysis Thomas F. Hanf, Michigan DOT, Lansing, MI (Chair) Gregory A. Smith, McCormick Taylor, Raleigh, NC Mariano Berrios, Florida DOT, Tallahassee, FL Timothy G. Casey, HDR Engineering, Inc., Minneapolis, MN Ahmed El-Aassar, Gannett Fleming, Inc, Leesburg, VA Cora Helm, Montana DOT, Helena, MT Paul M. Kohler, CH2M, Richmond, VA Carole Newvine, Oregon DOT, Salem, OR Bruce C. Rymer, California DOT, Sacramento, CA Raphael E. “Ray” Umscheid, Texas DOT, Austin, TX Adam T. Alexander, FHWA Liaison Christine Gerencher, TRB Liaison

NCHRP Research Report 882 provides guidance on how to include meteorological effects into analyses of noise from vehicles traveling on highways. The guidance is accompanied by materials to communicate these effects to nontechnical audiences. The report will be of interest to noise specialists at state departments of transportation (DOTs) who are responsible for assessing anticipated noise effects of highway projects. Others who must understand and explain noise effects, including public involvement specialists, community impact assessment practitioners, and highway project managers, will also find relevant information in the report and accompanying materials. Transportation stakeholders and members of the public frequently ask state DOT staff about highway noise effects. Understanding how noise from vehicles traveling on high- ways is propagated to areas nearby is a challenging task as noise is affected by many factors, including meteorological phenomena such as temperature inversions and atmospheric stability. Specifically, past studies show sound levels fluctuate as a result of changes in vertical gradients of wind speed and temperature. These meteorological influences refract sound waves, altering their trajectories and the distances at which their respective influ- ences may occur. This project builds on previous research by measuring and documenting the meteorological effects on roadway sound propagation under different atmospheric con- ditions, developing guidance on how to quantify those effects for inclusion in noise models, and provides customizable materials to help explain those effects to stakeholders, decision makers, and other non-specialists. The research was conducted by a consultant team lead by Resources Systems Group (RSG) of White River Junction, Vermont. The research effort included collecting field data at two monitoring sites, one with and the other without a highway noise barrier, under a range of meteorological conditions. These data were then analyzed to detect the differences in sound levels for nearby areas attributable to those conditions. The results can be used to adjust noise models commonly used by state DOTs to take into account various meteorological conditions. Also, the research team produced a series of technical appendices detailing the data collection and analysis methods. In addition to the printed report, several items are available on the TRB website by search- ing for NCHRP Research Report 882. A simple, spreadsheet-based tool was developed to help noise analysts determine if the specific conditions of a project might be affected by meteoro- logical influences. Also accompanying the report are an interactive presentation and a bro- chure, both designed to communicate the results of the research to nontechnical audiences. The interactive presentation includes audio files that allow the user to hear differences in highway noise under various meteorological conditions. The brochure summarizes the main concepts from the research and can be customized by a state DOT for use in connection with a specific project-related outreach effort or for more generalized distribution. F O R E W O R D By Ann M. Hartell Staff Officer Transportation Research Board

1 Summary 3 Chapter 1 Background 4 Introduction to Meteorological Effects on Sound Propagation 8 Summary of Previous Research 12 Chapter 2 Measurement and Modeling of Roadway Noise 12 Measurement Methods 20 Measurement Results 27 Modeling Results 33 Comparison of Modeled to Monitored Sound Levels 42 Chapter 3 Conceptual Models and Tools 42 Meteorological Parameters 46 Tools to Adjust Highway Sound Levels for Meteorology 58 Chapter 4 Implications for Noise Impact and Abatement 58 Analysis Sites 59 Meteorological Conditions 61 Noise Impact Results 64 Noise Abatement Conclusions 66 Feasibility 67 Reasonableness 70 Comparison to NCHRP Report 791 Results 72 Frequency of Meteorological Conditions 73 Summary 74 Chapter 5 Guidance and Implementation 74 State of the Practice in Other Countries 74 Available Models 75 Obtaining Model Data 75 Variation in Meteorological Conditions 75 Effects on Noise Impacts and Abatement Conclusions 76 Effects on Decision-Making 78 Chapter 6 Public Outreach Tools 78 Currently Available Public Outreach Tools and Materials 78 Newly Developed Tools and Materials 80 Chapter 7 Conclusions and Suggested Research 80 Conclusions 86 Suggestions 86 Suggested Research C O N T E N T S

88 References 93 Abbreviations, Acronyms, Initialisms, and Symbols A-1 Appendix A Literature Review B-1 Appendix B Data Collection C-1 Appendix C Data Collection Results and Statistical Analyses D-1 Appendix D Modeling

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TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Research Report 882: How Weather Affects the Noise You Hear from Highways documents the meteorological effects on roadway noise propagation under different atmospheric conditions. Highway noise changes from day to day and hour to hour—not just because of variations in traffic volumes, vehicle mix, and speed, but also because of the weather. The report develops guidance to identify when atmospheric conditions should or should not be considered in noise analyses.

The report is accompanied a PowerPoint presentation and a tool called the AERMET sound speed profile calculator. The report also includes a brochure designed to communicate the concepts of the research to non-technical audiences. The brochure is made available in MSWord format to enable customization and the ability to insert an official logo and contact information. An Interactive Tool is also available for download. The interactive tool includes audio files that allow the user to hear differences in highway noise under various meteorological conditions.

Disclaimer: This software is offered as is, without warranty or promise of support of any kind either expressed or implied. Under no circumstance will the National Academy of Sciences or the Transportation Research Board (collectively "TRB") be liable for any loss or damage caused by the installation or operation of this product. TRB makes no representation or warranty of any kind, expressed or implied, in fact or in law, including without limitation, the warranty of merchantability or the warranty of fitness for a particular purpose, and shall not in any case be liable for any consequential or special damages.

Original data used to develop NCHRP Research Report 882 are available upon request. Send requests via email to Ann Hartell, ahartell@nas.edu, and include a short explanation of the intended use of the data (for example, name of research project, research sponsor, affiliation and location of research team, and general plan for publication of results).

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