The A44 is getting audibly quieter!

The design for the RijnlandRoute requires noise barriers along the A44 that are not only sound-absorbing, but also made of low-maintenance, durable materials that do not visibly or even beautifully age.

Durisol of Raalte became the designated party to provide these screens. We speak with Gert-Jan Nietsch, commercial director at Durisol.

"At Durisol, we make noise barrier elements, noise tiles and tunnel elements that incorporate wood fiber concrete. The most important property of wood fiber concrete is its good sound absorption, which eliminates noise from being reflected. This makes our products very effective. So where our products are installed, it becomes audibly quieter," he opens the talk.

Sustainability at its best

The Durisol noise barrier elements are made of wood fiber concrete, a natural product, which allows them to grow optimally and blend into the landscape. This wood fiber concrete is made from clean residual wood (spruce) from the wood processing industry. We then deliver the sawdust released in our production process to the animal feed trade where it still has a function. Our production process is environmentally friendly and the low weight of our noise barriers makes them easy and quick to install. They are also demountable, so they can then be used again at other locations," Nietsch suggests. "This form of sustainability therefore fits completely within COMOL5's plan of action for the RijnlandRoute."

Customization produced ahead of time

Various shapes, sizes and colors are available for the elements of the Durisol noise barrier. The standard elements are flat, profiled or textured. For all projects, the elements can be made to your own design. Nietsch explains: "This means that we can take into account the wishes of local residents as well as the architect of the project. What is important here is that we are involved in the process as early as possible for the best result. In the case of the A44 the dimensions vary, we are talking about elements of 4 meters width at heights between 1 meter and 3 meters and elements of 2 meters width, which act as end pieces."

For the A44, Durisol has the required elements produced ahead and ready to go on a large bag field. "These elements are delivered quickly and efficiently on demand," explains Nietsch. "In fact, placement is done in phases. Smart work is being done, by not waiting to install the noise barriers as the very last, but allowing them to run along with the progress of the work, so that they are already shielding noise from the construction work. A nice contribution to achieving 'less disruption' for local residents!"