Skip to main content

Design contract awarded for M40 noise barriers

A new milestone in a project to develop innovative ways of reducing noise along the M40 has been reached, with the award of a design contract worth up to US$3 million. The contract will see WSP Parsons Brinkerhoff review sites along the M40 between junctions 3 and 8, which have been identified as areas where road noise is a particular issue and help decide where the barriers would be of benefit. Earlier this year, Highways England, working in partnership with the M40 Chiltern Environmental Group, (M40
November 17, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
A new milestone in a project to develop innovative ways of reducing noise along the M40 has been reached, with the award of a design contract worth up to US$3 million.

The contract will see WSP 4089 Parsons Brinkerhoff review sites along the M40 between junctions 3 and 8, which have been identified as areas where road noise is a particular issue and help decide where the barriers would be of benefit.

Earlier this year, 8101 Highways England, working in partnership with the M40 Chiltern Environmental Group, (M40 CEG) Wycombe District Council and South Oxfordshire District Council, ran a competition to develop a range of cost-effective barriers to reduce noise.

Potential designs include using solar panels in the barriers to produce clean energy to help offset their installation and operating costs.

Six entries were shortlisted and WSP Parsons Brinkerhoff will now work with the designers of the shortlisted entries to trial these noise barriers at the identified sites on the M40. These designs may also be installed on other parts of England’s strategic road network in the future.
 
Subject to the successful completion of the site review and development of design solutions for each site identified, Highways England will aim to start preparatory work for construction on site in winter 2016-17. This trial is entirely funded by Highways England and the construction phase of the project is subject to funding.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Savings accrue from on-line from truck screening
    October 18, 2013
    An online truck pre-clearance system is allowing enforcement to be better targeted towards offending vehicles. Utah is the latest US State department of transportation (DOT) to deploy HELP (Heavy Vehicle Electronic License Plate) Inc’s new 360SmartView electronic truck screening and sorting system at vehicle inspection sites to speed up compliance checks. The initial locations will be at Perry on Interstate 15 (I-15), which were the first sites in the state to implement HELP’s PrePass transponder-based v
  • Intersection collision avoidance system trial
    January 31, 2012
    Although much of the emphasis of research into intersection management has tended to concentrate on the needs of urban locations, there remain specific issues pertaining to rural intersections which need to be addressed. Here, Rebecca Szymkowski and Greg Helgeson, Wisconsin DOT, Todd Szymkowski, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Craig Shankwitz and Arvind Menon, University of Minnesota detail progress on an intersection collision avoidance system for more remote locations.
  • Use of ITS technology grows more prevalent in safety applications
    January 30, 2012
    Transportation agencies and governments are using ITS technology to protect critical infrastructure from terrorist attack and other threats to economic security and public safety. Andrew Bardin Williams reports. It is no secret that we live in a potentially dangerous world. Terrorism as seen on 9/11 in the United States, subsequent attacks in London, Moscow and Madrid and other acts of violence across the developing world have made vigilance the watchword for ensuring security. Key infrastructure is now bei
  • Denver light rail contract awarded
    July 31, 2015
    Denver’s Regional Transportation District (RTD) Board of Directors has approved a US$140 million two-phased contract award to Balfour Beatty Infrastructure (BBII) to design and build the Southeast Rail Extension. Design will begin during the fall with construction expected to start in spring 2016. The Southeast Rail Extension will build an additional 2.3 miles of light rail on the existing Southeast Rail Line south of Lincoln. When complete it will include an end-of-line station at RidgeGate Parkway,