VIJAYAWADA: The National Highway Authority of India on Friday installed noise barriers on the Benz Circle second flyover to protect the nearby inhabitants from noise pollution. Workers were seen fixing reflective sheets to the frames installed on the parapet wall of the flyover, thus decreasing the chances of noise pollution and helping the acoustics not to spread over to nearby residential and commercial spaces throughout the flyover stretch.
A noise barrier, also called a soundwall, noise wall, sound berm, sound barrier or acoustical barrier, is an exterior structure designed to protect inhabitants from noise pollution. Noise barriers are the most effective method of mitigating roadway, railway, and industrial noise sources - other than cessation of the source activity or use of source controls.
Speaking to TNIE, NHAI official Amrit Lal Sahu said that these noise barriers block the direct path of sound waves from the highway to houses and business establishments along the highway by at least
5 decibels.
With the increase in vehicular traffic, noise has become an important issue in the development and operation of road and railway networks. Therefore, road noise reduction fences or noise barriers, which are an effective solution for controlling traffic-induced noise, are used.
“Noise barriers are a necessary and vital component of the road network as far as the noise pollution is concerned,” said Amrit Lal Sahu. He further said Benz circle flyover is the first to have such a facility and explained that noise barriers will be installed to all the upcoming flyovers if they pass through cities and residential places. “For this flyover, we used hard plastic sheets to reduce the intensity of vehicular sound,” the NHAI official said.