Studies on Roadway Construction Noise in New York City

It is well known that noise from roadway constructions contribute significantly to the environmental noise in cities. In particular the communities are affected as they are in close proximity to the construction sites. The noise from construction is in addition to the existing ambient noise which is mainly due to traffic. A noise prediction and mitigation plan and its approval is required. It is important to account for the locations and periods of usage of multiple equipment in addition to their noise emission levels in developing the noise prediction and mitigation plan. This plan need to comply with the city noise control code and all its regulations. This paper presents the development of such a plan in reference to a roadway construction noise in New York City. The work presented in the paper is based on FHWA Roadway Construction Noise Model (RCNM). The paper also discusses the ease of using RCNM in such applications.