A1(T) Elkesley Junction Improvements - Highways Agency

• The property must not be more than 300m from the nearest point of the newor altered carriageway.The regulations apply only to qualifying eligible rooms, which include living roomsand bedrooms affected by road traffic noise.Table 9.13 shows that there are potentially a number of dwellings predicted to besubject to façade noise levels above the qualifying level of 68 dB(A) which is one ofthe 4 qualifying conditions required to be eligible under the Noise InsulationRegulations as detailed above. It should be noted that the majority of theseproperties also experience noise levels in excess of 68dB(A) in the baseline year.Furthermore, at certain receptors it is apparent that the increase in noise and theproportion of that due directly to the scheme would be in excess of the 1 dB(A)criteria proposed.However, the façade noise level at 1 Pepperly Rise is predicted to rise from 66.8dB(below the threshold) in the opening year to 69.7dB(A) (above it) in the design year.This indicates that there are properties which may qualify for the provision of noiseinsulation under the NIR.It is considered that a detailed assessment of qualification for insulation under theNIR is out side of the scope of this report. In order to make a full appraisal of thescheme in accordance with the Noise Insulation Regulations a further, more detailedassessment, would be required to be carried out.Figure 3.9 is a graphical representation the difference in the noise contours between2026 do something and 2011 do minimum scenarios. It should be noted from thisfigure that the area around 1 Pepperly Rise is that which is subject to the greatestincrease in noise level.VibrationVibration has the potential to result in structural damage to buildings and disturbanceto people in the surrounding area.Operational PhaseThe route corridor of the proposed scheme is rural in nature, the existing roadnetwork has relatively low flows and no sources of vibration were observed duringthe noise survey. Therefore it is considered that the likelihood of disturbance toresidents or structural damage to property as a result of traffic-induced vibration islow.Traffic-induced vibration can be caused in two ways;• Ground-borne vibrations produced by the interaction of vehicles’ wheels withthe road surface; and• Air-borne vibration transmitted through the air by energy waves.Ground-borne vibration is much less likely to be the cause of disturbance from roadtraffic and can be largely avoided by appropriate maintenance of the road surface.88