Wrocław's motorway ring-road--noise protection.

The 35.4-km stretch of the A8 motorway, i.e., Wrocław's motorway ring-road (WMRR), passes through the north-west part of the city of Wrocław and 4 neighbouring districts. Analyses have shown that WMRR will be a source of noise in the environment, which may adversely affect large areas. Normative environmental protection acts mandate taking all the necessary technical and organizational measures to reduce noise generated by the operation of WMRR in order to comply with the acoustic environment quality standards. The paper presents the research methodology adopted for assessing noise impact and designing acoustic barriers, and proposed designs of acoustic barriers which take into account the acoustic requirements, technical limitations, urban development, and architectural conditions.