Skip to content
Facebook iconYouTube iconTwitter iconFlickr iconLinkedInInstagram
Office of Planning, Environment, & Realty (HEP)
Planning Environment Real Estate
HEP Events Guidance Publications Glossary Awards Contacts

Noise Barrier Graphs

Materials

Noise Barriers by Material Type

Noise Barriers Constructed 1963 - 2022

This graph shows all barriers constructed from 1963 to 2022 by material type. Materials reported by States include: Precast Concrete, Cast-in-Place Concrete, Block, Wood, Metal, Berm, Brick, Other, and Combinations of these. The number of barriers that did not report any materials is also included for comparison. Overall, the top 5 materials were Precast Concrete, Block, Combinations, Wood, and Cast-in-Place Concrete. Exact data in table below.
Total Square Feet Built - Noise Barriers by Material Type
Primary Construction Material 1963-2022 2020 - 2022
Berm 4,106,327 -
Block 46,645,869 1,601,235
Brick 1,362,297 -
Cast-in-Place Concrete 9,625,158 234,259
Metal 6,359,645 -
Precast Concrete 162,598,195 12,016,349
Wood 14,489,932 -
Combination 34,918,047 2,405,361
Other 2,793,132 256,205
Unspecified Concrete 6,875,568 5,674,452
Unreported 10,327,037 347,084
Total 300,101,207 22,534,945

Noise Barriers by Material Type

Noise Barriers Constructed 2020 - 2022

This graph shows all barriers constructed from 20 to 2022 by material type. Materials reported by States include: Precast Concrete, Cast-in-Place Concrete, Block, Wood, Metal, Berm, Brick, Other, and Combinations of these. The number of barriers that did not report any materials is also included for comparison. Overall, the top 5 materials were Precast Concrete, Combinations, Block, Other, and Cast-in-Place Concrete. Exact data in table below.
Total Square Feet Built - Noise Barriers by Material Type (2020-2022)
Primary Construction Material Total Square Feet
Berm -
Block 1,601,235
Brick -
Cast-in-Place Concrete 234,259
Metal -
Precast Concrete 12,016,349
Wood -
Combination 2,405,361
Other 256,205
Unspecified Concrete 5,674,452
Unreported 347,084
Total 22,187,861

Other Material Barriers

1963- 2022

This graph shows the breakout of what materials are included under the 'Other' heading for barriers constructed from 1963 to 2022. Materials include: Acrylic, Acrylite, Carsonite, Composite, Unspecified Concretes, Fiberglass, Glass, Plastics (Transparent, Opaque, Other), PVC, and others that remained undefined. Most barriers during this period were reported as an undefined 'Other', followed by Fiberglass and Composite barriers. Exact data in table below.
Total Square Feet Built
*Other Materials: 1963-2022 2020-2022
Acrylic/Acrylite 9,457 7,180
Carsonite 35,300 35,300
Composite 444,683 -
Concrete (unspecified) 30,112 13,500
Fiberglass 553,070 26,008
Glass 11,760 -
Plastic Opaque 29,510 -
Plastic Other 21,888 -
Plastic Transparent 107,182 4,668
PVC 101,500 101,500
Undefined 'Other' 1,385,756 -
Total 2,730,218 188,156

2020- 2022

This graph shows the breakout of what materials are included under the 'Other' heading for barriers constructed from 2020 to 2022. Materials include: Acrylic, Acrylite, Carsonite, Unspecified Concretes, Fiberglass, Plastics (Transparent), and PVC. Overall, most barriers during this period were PVC, followed by Carsonite and Fiberglass.

Average Unit Cost
Primary Construction Material 1963-2022 2020-2022
Berm $12.37  
Block $40.30 $44.57
Brick $55.09  
Cast-in-Place Concrete $51.51 $37.02
Combination $40.60 $57.85
Metal $27.17  
Precast Concrete $43.45 $47.26
Other $66.42 $84.85
Unreported $52.18 $55.36
Unspecified Concrete $44.57 $47.10
Wood $30.18  
Average $42.17 $53.43

Noise Barriers by Project Type and Surface Texture

Barriers from 2020-2022

This graph shows the total square footage for all noise barriers constructed between 1963 to 2022 by Type and Surface Texture (Reflective, Absorptive, or Both). Barriers that did not report a Surface Texture are also shown for comparison. Exact data in table below.
Noise Barriers by Surface Treatment and Type (2020-2022)
Type Absorptive Both Reflective Unreported Total
Combination 1,389,631 - 11,085,543 194,893 12,670,067
County - - 58,636 195,543 254,179
Other 26,010 - 503,330 1,529,474 2,058,814
State 188,206 21,888 945,659 10,456,404 11,612,157
Toll - - - 8,683,212 8,683,212
Type I 30,832,853 2,401,673 69,979,354 113,270,491 216,484,371
Type II 2,530,087 601,145 8,164,605 30,194,088 41,489,925
Type III - - 1,000 - 1,000
Unknown 8,129 97,170 933,787 5,808,395 6,847,481
Total 34,974,916 3,121,876 91,671,914 170,332,500 300,101,206

Barriers from 2020-2022

This graph shows the total square footage for all noise barriers constructed between 2020 to 2022 by Type and Surface Texture (Reflective, Absorptive, or Both). Barriers that did not report a Surface Texture are also shown for comparison. Overall, most barriers were Reflective Type I's, followed by Absorptive Type I's. Exact data in table below.
Noise Barriers by Surface Treatment and Type (2020-2022)
  Absorptive Both Reflective Unreported Total
Combination - - 1,171,606 - 1,171,606
County - - 31,704 - 31,704
Other - - 32,298 - 32,298
State 51,366 - 248,136 - 299,502
Toll - - - - -
Type I 8,001,438 580,707 10,133,568 294,237 19,009,950
Type II 353,782 42,078 664,304 - 1,060,164
Unknown - - 10,770 918,951 929,721
Total 8,406,586 622,785 12,292,386 1,213,188 22,534,945

Noise Barriers by Decade and Surface Texture

Barriers from 1963-2022

This graph shows the total square footage for all noise barriers constructed between 1963 to 2022 by decade groupings for Surface Texture (Reflective or Absorptive). Barriers that did not report a Surface Texture are also shown for comparison on the right-hand y-axis. Barriers that listed 'Both' as a Surface Texture are not shown (total of 543,551 sq. ft.). Overall, reporting of Surface Textures has been improving over time and States continue to build more Reflective barriers. Exact data in table below.
Square Footage by Decade and Surface Texture
Surface Texture 1960-1969 1970-1979 1980-1989 1990-1999 2000-2009 2010-2019 2020-2022 Total
Absorptive  - 582,487 1,077,169 1,618,009 8,202,990 14,996,235 8,406,587 34,883,477
Reflective - 835,887 5,900,393 10,895,157 21,146,361 40,380,212 12,292,386 91,450,396
Both - - 445,120 375,073 137,834 1,541,065 622,785 3,121,877
Unreported 1,260 8,720,535 28,263,970 58,950,228 50,507,148 14,295,097 1,213,188 161,951,426
Total 1,260 10,138,909 35,686,652 71,838,467 79,994,333 71,212,609 22,534,946 291,407,176
Updated: 11/6/2023
HEP Home Planning Environment Real Estate
Privacy Policy | Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) | Accessibility | Web Policies & Notices | No Fear Act | Report Waste, Fraud and Abuse
U.S. DOT Home | USA.gov | WhiteHouse.gov

Federal Highway Administration | 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE | Washington, DC 20590 | 202-366-4000