Plastic Panels Placed To Dampen Interstate Noise

DALLAS (AP) — Workers have been installing plastic panels atop an 8-foot-tall concrete wall along Interstate 30 in hopes of further reducing traffic noise in a neighborhood in the Oak Cliff area of Dallas.

The Dallas Morning News (http://dallasne.ws/1ctG1C0 ) reports that even after the construction of the highway sound wall, a neighborhood representative told Texas Department of Transportation representatives at a public meeting last year that there was still work to be done.

So transportation officials decided to try out the plastic sheets, which are in 10-foot-tall sections. They are about two-thirds an inch thick.

The project will help officials learn whether such barriers could be good alternative to concrete walls. The durability and maintenance costs of the plastic sheets will be studied, as will their handling of sound.

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Information from: The Dallas Morning News, http://www.dallasnews.com

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