Noise Wall FAQ
Noise walls are the most common barrier for highway noise and are usually constructed out of dense materials such as concrete or masonry block. On US 36 in the project area, the existing noise walls are made of wood.
Noise walls reduce noise by blocking the direct travel of sound waves from a highway to adjacent homes, forcing the waves over the top or around the wall. The wall must be high enough and long enough to block the view of the highway. This is the phenomenon that allows a noise wall to provide a perceivable noise reduction.
Noise walls will have little to no impact for homes on a hillside overlooking a road, or for buildings, which rise above a barrier. Noise barriers are most effective for the first one or two rows of homes at distances up to 200 to 300 feet from the barrier.
As noise levels decrease with distance, there is a point away from the highway at which noise barriers are no longer effective. It is important to note that barriers are not designed to eliminate or block all noise.
There are three areas with noise barriers:
- SW of 120th adjacent to existing neighborhood
- Estates at Tanglewood
- Thorncreek
Survey teams will be in the right of way starting mid June 2016, and construction of temporary fences will begin in July. The noise walls will be completed by winter 2017.
The new noise walls on the North I-25 Express Lanes project will be concrete. Here's a preview of what they'll look like:
Unlike wood fences or landscaping (which do very little to block sound), the Acoustifence does extraordinarily well in not only blocking sound but also producing far less reflective sound than solid walls do. It is easily installed or removed in less than one hour. Totally NON-mold and UV tolerant, this material is virtually indestructible and does a wonderful job as a sound barrier.
