A new report to measure the effectiveness of noise reduction measures along the Oxley Highway has identified a range of properties as being eligible for new measures to combat noise pollution.
As part of the Oxley Highway upgrade between Wrights Road to the Pacific Highway, the News South Wales Roads and Maritime Services commissioned a noise monitoring report in 2012, which demonstrated that residents were concerned about the noise level.
A Post Construction Noise Assessment Report now compared actual noise from the upgrade against the project’s targets.
“Roads and Maritime aims to minimise the impact of noise on nearby residents as much as possible,” a Roads and Maritime spokesperson said.
“Independent sound specialist AECOM measured noise, traffic volumes and speed, road alignment and surface, landscape as well as reflections from buildings and roadside barriers, along the six kilometre stretch of highway.
“The effectiveness of existing measures to reduce noise was considered in the review, along with the need for other reasonable solutions.”
The report confirms last year’s noise levels at the majority of properties are in accordance with the agency’s Environmental Noise Management Manual.
However, some properties have been identified as being eligible for new measures to combat the impact. The report is available on the Oxley Highway upgrade project website.
The upgrade has provided a four lane divided road between Port Macquarie and the Pacific Highway, improving road safety and traffic flow as well as reducing travel times.