Natchez Trace Parkway: Raised profile striping modeling report 2025
Son S, Rapoza A, White K. 2025. Natchez Trace Parkway: Raised profile striping modeling report 2025. Science Report. NPS/SR—2025/289. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado. https://doi.org/10.36967/2309772
Raised profile striping (RPS) was installed on the roadway center and edge lines along a 40-mile corridor of Natchez Trace Parkway (NATR) as a safety measure to reduce traffic accidents. To measure potential effects to the acoustic environment, controlled noise measurements were conducted within NATR in May 2023. Uncontrolled measurements were taken in 2024 once the roads reopened to provide background acoustic data for the analysis. These data were used to conduct noise modeling scenarios analyzing the effect of RPS on the acoustic environment. Modeled results indicate that vehicles running over the RPS meaningfully alter the acoustic environment on a single-event overall and spectral level, but not when examining the cumulative effects over longer timeframes, such as hours. In other words, the RPS may not make the overall long-term noise environment louder, but distinct events and tones from drivers hitting the RPS might be heard hundreds of feet from the roadway and may cause short-term effects such as wildlife fleeing or increased vigilance or disruption of the visitor experience. Heavier vehicles hitting the RPS will produce lower frequency noise that is less likely to attenuate (decrease) over long distances. Areas of NATR with significant medium and heavy truck traffic will likely experience more noise from individual RPS hits at farther distances from the roadway. Audibility and perception for any receiver at a given time will depend on the existing non-road ambient noise amplitude and spectrum, which can fluctuate greatly by time of day, season, year, and land use. The amplitude of the cumulative noise level difference may increase if more vehicles hit the RPS, depending on the vehicle speed. Vehicle fleet mix, roadway alignment, traffic volume, posted speed limit, and driver behavior should be considered when determining RPS installation locations.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Son, Sophie; Rapoza, Amanda; White, Kelsey
- Date of Issue
- 2025-05
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- DOI
- 10.36967/2309772
- Units
- NATR , NRSS , NSNSD