NOISE IMPACT ASSESSMENT DUE TO FLYOVERS IN DELHI

Abstract

Urbanization and industrialization are the two most important features of the metropolitan city like Delhi. Due to rapid urbanization and corresponding growth of vehicles leads to congestion and accidents on roads. To increase the efficiency of transportation system, infrastructure like 'flyover' is a quick solution. Construction of a flyover is often coupled with major changes in the environment. Many people in Delhi are exposed to high levels of traffic noise above the planning standards given by Central pollution Control Board. No Traffic Engineering improvement of a highway project is without both gains and losses. Due to compactness of Delhi city and large number of high-rise residential developments, many of them are already experiencing excessive traffic noise for which there are no practicable engineering solutions. There is also limited scope to adopt traffic management solutions for example banning heavy vehicles from residential areas at nighttime to satisfactory tackle the traffic noise as the nearby roads are competing with the same noise levels. In urbanized areas the most effective reduction of traffic noise disturbances would be obtained by provision of noise barriers or enclosures. Australia, Japan and European countries such as France and the Netherlands have also incorporated barriers in their road design to abate traffic noise. The formal models used for traffic noise in UK and USA are Calculation of Road Traffic Noise (CRTN) and Federal Highway Administration Model (FHWA). Centre of Transportation Engineering (COTE) developed a highway noise prediction model for Indian conditions. A set of working tools with simplified assessment procedures has been established to enable the noise impact assessment and for feasible mitigation options. In the present study, an effort has been made to develop software in C-language. The software is meant for prediction of the noise levels and design of noise barrier for flyovers. Different types of noise barriers have been studied to protect the sensitive receivers from excessive noise levels.