Reducing road noise

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Tue 7 Sep 2021 14:54
Reducing road noise - RichT54

One of the main roads near my home was resurfaced recently. The new surface is very smooth, but the most noticeable thing is the reduction in road noise. When you are standing next to the point where the new surface butts up against the old surface and a vehicle moves from one to the other, it's like a switch is thrown as the volume of the tyre/road noise changes abruptly. The tyre/road noise must be a least half the volume on the new surface, especially for cars on wide, low profile tyres.

The work was done during several night-time closures of the road. I imagine people living right next to the road were pretty upset while it was happening, but might now be feeling it was worth it. However, people living further down the road where it still has the old surface must be feeling rather envious.

What is it that makes the new surface so much quieter? Is it down to the materials used, or in the way it is applied? I wonder if it is significantly more expensive than a traditional road surface?

Anyone care to bet how long it will be before one of the utilities starts digging holes in it?

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Tue 7 Sep 2021 15:13
Reducing road noise - Andrew-T

There are stretches of the M56 near here where quiet surfaces have been laid over the last few years - in fact the local MP at the time claimed credit for some of them.

I think it is mostly due to the size of the gravel in the surface mix, but I may be wrong. That is how it looks to me when my car crosses a boundary.

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Tue 7 Sep 2021 15:29
Reducing road noise - Engineer Andy

Glad that surface got better - in my area, a section of the local dual carriageway was resurfaced with a tarmac top, but some crinkled under surface, meaning it now is just as noisy (and will reduce mpg) as the previous stone-chipped 'topped' surface.

The county council declined to say what their reasoning was.

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Tue 7 Sep 2021 18:52
Reducing road noise - JonestHon

Searching for quiet tarmac brought this news item, seems like the content is modified with some polymers tarmac.com/case-studies/quieter-asphalt-road-surfa.../

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Tue 7 Sep 2021 19:51
Reducing road noise - bathtub tom

I know they use old tyres to quieten road surfaces, but the most difference I've noticed was the Oxford ring road, when they replaced the old concrete surface.

A passenger thought there was something wrong with the car on the old concrete!

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Fri 10 Sep 2021 12:25
Reducing road noise - Engineer Andy

I know they use old tyres to quieten road surfaces, but the most difference I've noticed was the Oxford ring road, when they replaced the old concrete surface.

A passenger thought there was something wrong with the car on the old concrete!

The terrible 'drone' that driving on older concrete (new is bad enough at speed). Its like that on some of the SW parts of the M25 and on stretches of the A30 in Cornwall.

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Thu 9 Sep 2021 19:34
Reducing road noise - Sparrow

You're fortunate. The A road I most frequently drive on was recently resurfaced with a noisier surface than it had before. I reckon it must have been a cut price job as the surface is now terrible to drive on. It's full of ripples and is the opposite of smooth and level. A complete waste of public funds.

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Thu 9 Sep 2021 20:03
Reducing road noise - sammy1

Talking about noise have you come across the yellow rumble strips across the carriage way on fast flowing roads designed to wake you up before a roundabout. Down where I live they have relined them on top of the old ones so they are twice as thick as they were before. Not only does the noise wake you up but the car shakes you to death.

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Thu 9 Sep 2021 21:39
Reducing road noise - alan1302

Talking about noise have you come across the yellow rumble strips across the carriage way on fast flowing roads designed to wake you up before a roundabout. Down where I live they have relined them on top of the old ones so they are twice as thick as they were before. Not only does the noise wake you up but the car shakes you to death.

Time to get some softer suspension! :-)

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Fri 10 Sep 2021 12:29
Reducing road noise - Engineer Andy

You're fortunate. The A road I most frequently drive on was recently resurfaced with a noisier surface than it had before. I reckon it must have been a cut price job as the surface is now terrible to drive on. It's full of ripples and is the opposite of smooth and level. A complete waste of public funds.

Sounds very much like the same experience I mentioned earlier. I thought it was originally just a contractor error (bad workmanship), but it happened separately (a year apart) on two separate stretches (neither being the run-up to a junction - the 'rumble strip' [normally coloured differently), and your situation (unless we're talking about the same road [unlikely]) now being the third I've heard of.

The county council in my area (Herts) were less than forthcoming as to their reasoning and fobbed me off.

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