In 2002, a group of Alberta transportation agencies, in cooperation with the Alberta Recycling Management Association, embarked on a trial project to evaluate Asphalt Rubber Concrete (ARC) pavement. ARC has been in use in the US since the mid 1980’s and has proven to be an environmentally friendly alternative to conventional asphalt pavement. ARC has many reported benefits that distinguish it from conventional asphalt pavements. Among them are longer service life, reduced reflective cracking, reduced rutting, and reduced road noise. Although the primary goal of the trial project was to establish whether ARC was a viable alternative road surfacing material in Alberta’s climate, reduced road noise has proven to be a significant side benefit. In Alberta, several roadways have been paved with ARC since 2002 in both urban and rural areas. In conjunction with the ARC paving, road noise was measured at selected project locations both prior to and after paving with ARC and then on an annual basis through 2005. In this paper, the theory of noise propagation and methodology of measuring the road noise will be presented and, using the urban and rural area road noise data acquired over the last four years, a comparison between the road noise associated with ARC and previously existing conventional pavements will be discussed. The mechanism that results in lower road noise will be addressed as part of this discussion. In addition, the ramifications of quieter roads will be examined by addressing the cost of quieter ARC pavements compared to conventional pavements and the cost of other noise mitigation measures compared to ARC.
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