Quiet Pavement

Quieter Pavement Acoustic Measurement and Performance (PDF) - In response to noise complaints, Caltrans’s Division of Environmental Analysis began developing a quick, portable, low-cost, and precise pavement acoustic measurement process originally based on General Motors’ work measuring tire noise levels. The Caltrans’ measurement process has now become AASHTO Designation: T 360-16, Standard Method of Test for the Measurement of Tire/Pavement Noise Using the On-Board Sound Intensity (OSBI) Method. [T 360-16 was formerly TP-76.]

Roadside noise levels can be influenced by pavement selection and design. At non-stop-and-go, cruising speeds, the primary vehicle noise generator is tire/pavement interaction. Transportation agencies have no control over tire design, but they have direct control over pavement design. This report gives a general summary of the work done in quantifying and comparing pavement acoustics and indexing the relative noise levels of different pavements and roadway surfaces. (Published February 2018)

IH-80 Davis OGAC Pavement Noise Study 12th Year Report (PDF) is the longest running quiet pavement study in the nation. (Published May 2011)

Further Development of the Sound Intensity Method of Measuring Tire noise Performance of In-Situ Pavements (PDF) - Caltrans refined the OBSI equipment for measuring tire/pavement noise levels with the second generation, dual probe OBSI. The use of dual sound intensity probes halves the measurement time required to capture the pavement acoustics (Published January 2006)

Comparative Measurements of Tire/Pavement Noise in Europe and the United States, The NITE Study (PDF) is the first definitive acoustic comparison of quiet pavements in Europe to typical pavements in California and Arizona. (Final report published July 2006)