Bullertunneln : En utredning kring en ny bullerlösning vid trafikleder

The purpose of this Master Thesis has been to investigate the possibilities for a new type of noise reduction solution that could decrease the negative effects resulting from larger traffic roads. The idea has been to construct a noise barrier with a roof – like a tunnel placed on a road. The choice of material has been focused on transparent materials in order to lower visual intrusion and barrier effects. This project idea is called the Noise tunnel. After having investigated the current offer of noise solutions, it has been concluded that these solutions rarely provide a sufficient level of noise reduction – at least not when government regulations of acceptable noise levels are applied. To reach these acceptable noise levels at large traffic roads, noise barriers must be constructed at a larger scale or else the roads must be built below ground level. The Noise tunnel has therefore been investigated as an alternative noise solution. With the reduced noise levels resulting from the Noise tunnel, it will be possible to exploit new land for construction –something which would contribute to the funding of the Noise tunnel. In order to investigate the Noise tunnel in a more concrete way, a part of Nynäsvägen has been studied. Nynäsvägen is a large road situated south of Stockholm, and some parts of the road, as well as its surroundings, suffer from severe noise problems. Moreover, there is unexploited land available near Nynäsvägen, and this could be used for constructions. The result of the investigations shows that the Noise tunnel is approximately 10 times more expensive than a noise barrier, but 10 times cheaper than decking over the road. Furthermore, it has been found that it is possible to construct the Noise tunnel with today’s production methods. This conclusion is supported by both primary research and observations from similar projects conducted abroad. It has been found that the Noise Tunnel represent an alternative solution at large traffic roads in urban environments where noise problems are of concern. This thesis concludes that although there are no technical problems preventing the Noise tunnel from becoming reality, the incentives to implement it are likely to represent a greater barrier