The "hum" of a concrete highway surface

[MASTERNC]

My favorite was I-81 in PA around Shippensburg.  Not sure if they have done anything to change it since the last time I drove that stretch.  The stretch of I-376 near the airport in Pittsburgh (now being reconstructed) also had several pitches to its sound (often in quick succession).

[joshI5]

Ah yes, I love that concrete "hum" sound produced by the transverse grooving on certain sections of pavement, typically bridge decks. I'm also very disappointed that many DOTs are now shifting to longitudinal tining for bridge decks, which seems to have more of a "whisper" noise and is completely devoid of that pavement hum. I wonder how much of an impact the "hum" has on the overall noise of the highway from the outside anyway--I would have thought that the sounds from the car engines and other factors would be far louder and thus mitigate the sound of the highway "hum", but I don't have much evidence to back that claim up...

I know New York, Washington, Wisconsin, Ohio, and California have shifted over to longitudinal tining for bridge decks in the past few years or so, and I'm sure various other states have as well (or are going to in the near future). Apparently by the 1970s California was the only state NOT to use transverse tining, instead sticking to longitudinal grooves for bridge decks. It wasn't until the 1980s or so that California eventually made the switch to transverse tining for bridge decks; thus, hearing the highway "hum" here is often rare (although here in California it's more of a grinding/growling sound) and only found on newer bridge decks pre-2013, until Caltrans switched back to longitudinal grooving. There was a particularly long section of I-5 in Orange County that I frequently traveled on in which I always loved hearing the pavement "whine" occur on bridge decks. I was devastated to find that in just the past few weeks almost ALL of those bridge decks were coated in some sort of resin that cancels the noise while still maintaining friction. The same has already happened on portions of I-105, in which the "whine" also used to be commonplace. All the newer bridges are paved with longitudinal tining, it's a shame that's the way things are going now.

I always thought the highway "hum" reflected a highway's/state's personality in a way. It's cool to compare the noises of various locations: Florida has a really neat high-pitched hum that's really commonplace, California's is more of a growling whine (although it's somewhat rare to find), Illinois has a lower-pitched hum which I really like, Texas has kind of a more whistling noise, and New York's older highways have a borderline annoying (yet really cool) grinding sound. Also, whenever I drive to Vegas a portion of I-15 is transversely grooved which produces a cool humming noise (Although, when recently widened, the extra lane was diamond ground and thus does not produce the "whine."). Again, enjoy it while it lasts before the longitudinal tining takes over.

ILLINOIS:

NEW YORK:

FLORIDA:

CALIFORNIA:

[ILRoad55]

There is a section on the Stevenson (I-55) past LaGrange but before crossing the Des Plaines that switches between 2 hums. It switched between a high pitched him and a very deep low pitch hum. I really like it for some reason. I don't remember if any other expressways in the Chicagoland area still have hums. They resurfaced I-355 a few years ago to asphalt so it no longer hums.

[bing101]

Highway 80 aka I 80 at the Golden Gate Fields track the Eastbound lanes have a hum in that area.

[GaryV]

Sections of I-69 between Fort Wayne and Marion are downright annoying.  The concrete portions have a very loud "hum" - more like a moan. Then there are asphalt overlays which are almost quiet.  When you hit the next concrete section, it suddenly jars you.

[inkyatari]

I remember the scene in the movie "Sneakers" when they were trying to figure out where  Robert Redford was taken to after he was kidnapped, and they used the sound of the road hum (along with the space between expansion joints) to figure out which bridge over the San Francisco bay area he crossed.

[golden eagle]

I like the sound of concrete, but it does annoy me when it forces me to turn the radio volume up.

[Marc]

TxDOT Houston has shifted to longitudinal tining for their newest concrete freeway projects. New concrete on 290, Grand Pkwy, and 59 through Rosenburg no longer produces that classic Texas whistle. I have not seen any other TxDOT district adopt this trend as of yet, but I'm sure they will.

I have never been a fan of the Texas whistle/hum. It's probably because Texas doesn't use expansion joints (which I find incredibly idiotic), so there's no other noise to help counteract the whistle.

My favorite concrete sound is the Florida bridge, which other states have started to adopt within the last decade. I love the low pitched, almost grunt sound it produces.

[UCFKnights]

I prefer concrete, too. I even like the rhythmic "click" of the tires over the expansion joints. Seems like they last longer, too, but I'm sure it's more expensive. However, Ohio tends to fill the potholes with asphalt, which can really make the road surface terrible.

My understanding was concrete is cheaper while oil prices were sky high a few years ago. i believe I-95 near Cocoa in FL was paved on concrete as it was cheaper then asphalt at the time.

I too noticed while growing up that in Florida, downtown/cities got concrete surfaces and outside of that it was all asphalt, and I asked why, and was told concrete had a longer life and durability and required less repairs, but was much more difficult to modify if required. Not sure if thats the actual reason or not and I am still curious why Florida tends to do that.

[mtantillo]

I'm amused at how bridge decks on opposite sides of the same state sound EXACTLY the same, while you go to the next state and its different. Uniform design standards in action!

[jlwm]

TxDOT Houston has shifted to longitudinal tining for their newest concrete freeway projects. New concrete on 290, Grand Pkwy, and 59 through Rosenburg no longer produces that classic Texas whistle. I have not seen any other TxDOT district adopt this trend as of yet, but I'm sure they will.

There's a holdout in the Houston District. The new I-10 EB to I-45 NB connector project over White Oak Bayou was completed earlier this year and uses transverse tine. Longitudinal tine has been used on some bridge decks in the Houston District since the late 70s. I-45 elevated between I-10 and Memorial Dr. downtown was redecked around 1978-79 and has longitudinal tine. 

Since we're talking about the Houston District, the I-45 Causeway at Galveston sounds unlike any of the bridges/overpasses in the Houston District. It's like a whistle and a hum mixed with grinding. Starts around 2:45.

[Marc]

Since we're talking about the Houston District, the I-45 Causeway at Galveston sounds unlike any of the bridges/overpasses in the Houston District. It's like a whistle and a hum mixed with grinding. Starts around 2:45.

My video from several years ago

Yes, portions of this bridge remind me of the sounds of a Florida bridge deck. The bridge carrying SH 66 across Lake Ray Hubbard in Rowlett also sounds like this.