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Guidance Manuals

Caltrans Vibration Guidance Manual

The Caltrans Vibration Guidance Manual (PDF) (33 MB, April 2020) provides practical guidance to engineers, planners, and consultants who must address vibration issues associated with the construction, operation, and maintenance of Caltrans projects.

Pile Driving Impacts on Fish

This manual, Technical Guidance for Assessment and Mitigation of the Hydroacoustic Effects of Pile Driving on Fish (PDF), provides Department engineers, biologists, and consultants with guidance related to the environmental permitting of in- and near-water pile driving projects. Chapters 1 through 4 cover the fundamentals of hydroacoustics, hydroacoustic impacts on fish, and the framework and process for analysis of pile driving on fish. A large portion of this document is the Appendix I Compendium, which presents a collection of pile driving data, under a variety of conditions that can be used as an empirical reference for the permitting process. The other Appendices contain additional tools that can be used by both biologists and engineers to facilitate hydroacoustic impact assessments.

Caltrans Technical Guidance for the Assessment and Mitigation of the Effects of Traffic Noise and Road Construction Noise on Bats

This manual (pdf) provides Department engineers, biologists, and consultants with guidance related to the effects of traffic noise and road construction noise on bats. This document covers the sound environment, bat hearing, echo location and communication, effects of highway noise on bats, and presents guidelines for project noise assessment and management. Literature citations and abstracts have been included in Appendix C and constitutes a significant portion of this document. The PDF format of this guidance allows the extensive citations to be easily searched.

Caltrans Technical Guidance for the Assessment and Mitigation of the Effects of Traffic Noise and Road Construction Noise on Birds

The manual for the Assessment and Mitigation of the Effects of Traffic Noise and Road Construction Noise on Birds (PDF) provides Department engineers, biologists, and consultants with guidance related to the effects of traffic noise and road construction noise on birds. This document covers the sound environment, bird hearing, communication, effects of highway noise on birds, and presents guidelines for project noise assessment and management. The PDF format of this guidance allows the document to be easily searched.