Auralisations: Road noise

Listen to auralisations of road traffic noise. You can hear the effect of noise barriers and noise reducing road surfaces among other things.

Auralisations are demonstrations of sound for a non-existing situation. Auralisations can be made for eg. a motorway, before it is constructed.

Here, you can find a range of auralisations and get impressions of how an expressway sounds with our without noise barriers on different periods of the day.

This page is subject to frequent updates due to new auralisations. Chose an auralisation by clicking one of the boxes below.

Get started with auralisations

In order to get full benefits of the auralisations, we suggest you follow the guide below to get the correct audio volume in your playback system.

About auralisation

GUIDELINE: How to listen to auralisations
How to listen to auralisations

You can adjust the sound level of your playback system (PC, tablet, or smartphone) using the sound file for adjustment of volume on this page.

Adjust the level to the point where it sounds like a person speaking at normal volume one meter in front of you. You can compare it to a real person speaking at a meter’s distance. You may have to adjust the level a couple of times before you’re confident the level is right.

Get the most out of auralisations

In order to get the most out of the auralisations, you should do the following:
1. Read the prerequisites below. You get the full information on the different situations (traffic flow, type of road etc.) in the grey tabs below.
2. Adjust the “playback level” as described to get the correct volume in your headset.
3. Listen to the auralisations by clicking the appropriate text in the box. When the sound files are loaded into your browser you can instantly switch between different sound files – which makes differences appear immediately.
Enjoy!
Simple sketch of auralisation (in Danish)
Auralisations of a two lane expressway
The road has a yearly average of approx. 15,000 vehicles at 80-90 km/h (10% heavy veheicles). Auralisations are made for positions 30 metres and 100 metres away from the roadside. Wind speed is 0 m/s (neutral wind).

Auralisations cover ordinary road surfaces (reference surface) and a noise reducing surface (SRS).

Furthermore, auralisations are made for a 4 metres high barrier at roadside. The barrier is 400 metres long (200 metres on each side of the listening position).

Auralisations cover the day, evening and night period.

For these examples you should imagine you’re 30 metres or 100 metres away from the road and the listening height is 1,5 metres above ground.
Auralisations of a four lane motorway

The road has a yearly average of approx. 59,000 vehicles at 110 km/h (10% heavy veheicles. Auralisations are made for positions 30 metres and 100 metres away from the roadside. Wind speed is 0 m/s (neutral wind) unless noted otherwise.

Auralisations cover ordinary road surfaces (reference surface) and a noise reducing surface (SRS).

Furthermore, auralisations are made for a 4 metres high noise barrier at roadside. The barrier is 400 metres long (200 metres on each side of the listening position).

Auralisations cover the day, evening and night period.

For these examples you should imagine you’re 30 metres or 100 metres away from the road and the listening height is 1,5 metres above ground.