• Construction Noise
  • Handbook
  • RCNM Version 1.1
  • RCNM Version 2.0
  • Special Report
• Measurement
• Noise Barriers
• Noise Compatible Planning
• Regulation and Guidance
• Resources
• Tire Pavement Noise
• Traffic Noise Model
• Training

Roadway Construction Noise Model User Guide

1. Introduction

The Roadway Construction Noise Model (RCNM) is the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) national model for the prediction of construction noise. Due to the fact that construction is often conducted in close proximity to residences and businesses, construction noise must be controlled and monitored to avoid impacts on surrounding communities. In addition to community issues, excessive noise can threaten a construction project's progress. Each project needs to balance the community's need for peace and quiet with the contractor's need to progress the work.

The Central Artery/Tunnel (CA/T) project in Boston, Massachusetts, which began in the early 1990s, is the largest urban construction project ever conducted in the United States. Its noise control program developed the Construction Noise Control Specification 721.560, the most comprehensive noise specification ever developed in the United States [1]. As part of the CA/T project noise control program, a construction noise prediction spreadsheet was developed [2]. Because the CA/T prediction tool can benefit other state and local governments, the FHWA developed the RCNM, which is based on the noise prediction calculations and the equipment database used in the CA/T prediction spreadsheet. The RCNM provides a construction noise screening tool to easily predict construction noise levels and to determine compliance with noise limits for a variety of construction noise projects of varying complexity.

2. Background

The RCNM is a national model based on the noise calculations and extensive construction noise data compiled for the CA/T Project. The basis for the national model is a spreadsheet tool developed in support of the CA/T project [2]. The CA/T predictions originated from Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) noise level work [3] and an Empire State Electric Energy Research Corp. Guide [4] which utilizes an "acoustical usage factor" to estimate the fraction of time each piece of construction equipment is operating at full power (i.e., its loudest condition) during a construction operation. Table 1 presents a construction equipment noise database compiled through the CA/T project [2]. This database is used to predict construction noise within the RCNM. The noise levels listed represent the A-weighted maximum sound level (Lmax), measured at a distance of 50 feet from the construction equipment.