dulles toll road highway noise wall program

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Dulles Toll Road Highway Noise Wall Program

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Purpose

The purpose of the Dulles Toll Road Highway Noise Wall Program is to guide the repair or replacement of existing noise walls

and assess requirements for new noise walls.

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Need for a Noise Policy

● As of November 1, 2008, the Airports Authority is responsible for existing noise walls and highway noise mitigation along the Dulles Toll Road (DTR) corridor.

● The Dulles Toll Road Highway Traffic Noise Policy (Noise Policy) establishes assessment criteria to evaluate existing and future highway noise levels, and obligations stated in the Dulles Toll Road Transfer Agreement.

● To be eligible to receive federal funding on future roadway projects, the Airports Authority must have a noise policy approved by the Federal Highway Administration.

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Chronology of Noise Policy

● Development of the Noise Policy began in early 2010.

● Public meeting held in June 2010; release of Draft Noise Policy.

● Noise Policy adopted by Board in February 2011.

● Noise Policy modified in mid 2011 to reflect comments from Federal Highway Administration and new VDOT Guidance.

● Revised/amended Noise Policy adopted by Board in February 2012. http://www.mwaa.com/file/DTR_Noise_Policy.pdf

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Policy Fundamentals

● Conforms to federal and VDOT guidelines.

● The Airports Authority’s Noise Wall Policy includes a provision to assess the eligibility of established community developments to receive mitigation for existing conditions.

● Under the provision, 27 Noise Sensitive Areas (NSAs) were defined as geographical areas with defined land uses eligible for noise mitigation consideration according to the Authority’s Noise Policy.

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Noise Measurement Areas

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black Detailed maps and information are posted as PDF file, separate from this presentation.

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Process: Noise Policy to Noise Wall Program

● Development/adoption of Noise Policy. ● Highway noise sampling/testing. ● “Type I” analysis – Noise walls that result from a highway

improvement (part of future improvements). ● “Type II” analysis – Re-evaluation of the existing Toll Road for

potential noise mitigation. ● Establishment of a proposed Noise Wall Program. ● Community approval for reasonable new and replacement Noise

Wall projects. ● Design and Construction.

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Type II Noise Wall Evaluation

Process for New Noise Walls ● Impact – Do noise levels exceed maximum levels per Noise

Wall Policy? ● Feasibility – Is the noise wall effective in reducing the noise

level? Can it be constructed? ● Reasonableness – Is the noise wall cost-effective? Evaluation of Existing Noise Walls ● Effectiveness - Does the existing noise wall reduce the noise

level effectively? ● Structural Integrity – Is the existing noise wall structurally

intact?

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Highway Noise Sampling and Testing

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Example of a noise receptor used to measure sound levels Example of 24-hour noise sampling results

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Highway Noise Model Creation

● Short‐Term noise measurements were collected concurrently with traffic counts to account for the volume and types of vehicles. These were obtained to validate the Highway Noise Model.

● Once the Highway Noise Model was validated, the worst case traffic scenario was applied to the model to produce the worst case noise conditions along the Dulles Toll Road Corridor.

– Traffic Assumptions for Highway Noise Model • Rail Noise included. • 4 lanes flowing at 65 mph closest to NSA on the Dulles Toll Road and 2 lanes

flowing at 65 mph closest to the NSA on the Dulles International Airport Access Highway (Highest throughput of traffic). The Highway Noise Model also includes traffic on the opposite side of the Dulles Toll Road and Dulles International Airport Access Highway.

● Worst case noise conditions were then analyzed to begin the process of determining which properties are impacted.

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Determination of Noise ‘Impact’ ● Impacted areas must receive noise equal to or exceeding the following

level: – 66 dB(A)*: Residences, places of worship, schools, hospitals, parks, and trails. – 71 dB(A)*: Hotels.

Example of Worst -Case Noise Conditions at Worldgate Condominiums * Average noise level over a one-hour period.

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Legend

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Determination of Noise Wall ‘Feasibility’ Noise Wall feasibility* is established by: ● Overall highway traffic noise reduction of at least 5 dB(A) is achievable for at least 50% of all impacted

properties. ● Property is accessible for noise wall construction and

maintenance. ● Non-highway noise sources, such as urban streets, do

not reduce or limit the effectiveness of the proposed noise wall.

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*See Page 10 of the Highway Traffic Noise Policy for a complete listing of the Feasibility criteria.

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Determination of Noise Wall ‘Reasonableness*’

● The maximum area of noise wall per benefited receptor shall be 1,600 square feet (sf) and the maximum allowable height of a noise

barrier shall be 30 feet.

Example of how reasonableness is calculated: Assume the Highway Noise Model shows 16 Benefited Receptors (BR) for a proposed

noise wall that measures 1,000 feet long x 15 feet high = 15,000 sf. The square feet per Benefited Receptor = 15,000/16 BR = 937 sf/BR This number is below the 1,600 maximum sf/BR, therefore the Noise Wall is considered

reasonable.

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* See page 11 of the Highway Traffic Noise Policy for a complete listing of Reasonableness criteria.

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Recommended Noise Wall Program

Noise Wall Repairs (9)

New Noise Walls (5) Noise Wall Replacements (2)

Current Wall Effective Outside of Current Noise Wall Parameters

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Recommended Noise Wall Program

New Noise Wall Program (5)

Replacement Noise Walls (2)

Worldgate Condominiums McLean Hamlet Odricks Corner Dulles Greene Apartments Courtyard by Marriott and Summerfield Suites

Wolftrap Meadows Bluffs of Wolf Trap

Noise Wall Repairs (9)

Reflection Lake Victoria Farms Hunter Mill Estates, Hunter Mill Overlook Sun Valley (2 Walls) Cinnamon Creek Wolf Trap Wolf Trap Woods, Carrington Tysons Village

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Noise Wall Program Results Dulles Toll Road: Western Section

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Noise Sensitive Areas and Recommended Noise Wall Program

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Noise Wall Program Results Dulles Toll Road: Central Section

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Noise Sensitive Areas and Recommended Noise Wall Program

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Noise Wall Program Results Dulles Toll Road: Eastern Section

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Noise Sensitive Areas and Recommended Noise Wall Program

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Next Steps

• Complete the existing Noise Wall Repairs, 2012. • Community Outreach for New and Replacement

Noise Walls, beginning Fall 2012. • Design and construct Wolftrap Meadows Noise

Wall Replacement, 2012-2013. • Design and construct New Noise Walls, 2012-

2014. • Planned Bluffs of Wolf Trap Noise Wall

Replacement, 2014.

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Additional Information Please contact the following MWAA Offices for information and questions

related to: DTR Noise Wall Program and Construction:

Engineering Office 703-417-8140

General Noise Questions: Noise Abatement Office 703-417-8745

MWAA is committed to working with every community located along the

Dulles Toll Road

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Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project

Washington Dulles International Airport Dulles Toll Road