"Quiet Pavement" Program comes to Loudoun, VA

Do you regularly drive the Route 7 Bypass around Leesburg? Perhaps you noticed a repaving project this summer on this stretch of road that, by most accounts, was still in pretty good condition. Not to worry, this was no local government project just to use up funds before the end of the 2011 fiscal year. The repaving project, which covers a 4 mile stretch from Route 15 to Route 9, is the result of funding from the state of Virginia to test a "quiet pavement" technology known as porous friction course asphalt. This stretch of road in Loudoun is one of 5 locations in the state chosen for the pilot program. The new pavement, already widely used in Europe, has a number of benefits including reduced road noise, improved drainage and better traction. An added bonus: this newer material is actually cheaper to install than traditional asphalt. For years, homeowners located close to the bypass have logged complaints about the traffic noise and this is one of the measures now in place to combat that issue. This new road surface will be examined closely over the next two years to see how well this material holds up to weather conditions and geography in this part of the state. Since the new pavement was installed, a decrease in traffic noise has been noted in neighborhoods near the bypass. Let's keep our fingers crossed that this new surface, while more economical and more noise-resistant, also can stand up to the extremes of Loudoun's winter & summer weather. For more details about this project, read an article from the Leesburg Today.