ForConstructionPros.com

Jared Brox
Two Rivers Marketing, Des Moines, Iowa

When it comes to highway sound barriers, options are few and far between. For years, precast has remained the industry standard due, in large part, to lack of acceptable, cost-effective alternatives. However, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission recently completed a sound barrier project using a composite alternative that is not only easier to install and environmentally friendly, but also has the potential to save hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The PA Turnpike was the first to use the new barrier - Eco Sound Barrier by CENTRIA - on the $100 million renovation of a seven-and-a-half-mile stretch of highway on the PA Turnpike, at mile marker 7.3. The overall project involved the reconstruction of a section of the turnpike near the Ohio border that took the existing four-lane highway to six in order to keep up with today's transportation standards. Eco Sound Barrier was used to provide noise mitigation on the section of the turnpike that runs through Enon Valley, Pa.

CENTRIA presented Eco Sound Barrier to the turnpike commission as an option for the project. The only highway product to be Cradle-to-Cradle certified, Eco Sound Barrier is made from 23 percent recycled material and is 100 percent recyclable at the end of its useful life. Cradle-to-Cradle is a model based on lifecycle assessment of human industry, materials and design and their impact on the natural environment. The barrier panels are constructed out of a polymer composite core with galvanized or aluminum substrates.

"There is certainly something to be said about the environmental benefits of this product," says Kevin Scheurich, project manager for the PA Turnpike. "It's hard to put a real cost to it, but it is definitely something we consider."

Money matters
However, what was most appealing to the turnpike commission was the up-front cost savings. Eco Sound Barrier material cost is about one-third as much as precast.