Influence of truck traffic on acoustic pollution in Kaunas districts crossed by highways

Abstract The aim of the study was to assess the influence of truck traffic on acoustic pollution in two Kaunas districts crossed by highways‐ Eiguliai and Silainiai. Composition of traffic flow and noise measurements were conducted near the main streets and national highways that cross the districts. GIS and statistical software SPSS 12.01 were used for the data analysis. The study results showed that mean noise level near the main streets was 70 dB(A) in the daytime,‐ 68.6 dB(A) in the evening and at night it was 61.1 dB(A) in Eiguliai, and in Silainiai it was 67 dB(A), 65 dB(A) and 58 dB(A), correspondingly. On the highways, crossing the districts, heavy vehicles compose about 3 times higher part of total traffic flow during the day and about 2 times in the evening compared to other main streets. The noise level depended on the traffic flow and correlation coefficient fluctuated from 0.77 to 0.85. The modelling of traffic flow showed, that the increase of trucks proportion by 2 percent would increase th...