Sustainable Retrofitting of Urban Streets for Mitigation of Traffic Vibration by Means of Anti-vibrating Trenches

Vibrations induced by vehicular traffic are of increasing concern in urban areas, especially because of nuisance issues perceived by inhabitants and possible damage problems experienced by exposed heritage buildings. Among the several countermeasures aiming at reducing the level of vibration at source or at mitigating the propagation of ground-borne vibration through pavement layers and underlying soils, the use of anti-vibrating trenches may offer an interesting solution in mitigating the vibrations caused by heavy vehicle traffic. In this paper, an original vibration prediction numerical model is developed and proposed that may help in the design procedure of such countermeasures. Following an initial calibration of the numerical model and a validation with experimental results derived by technical literature, preliminary findings obtained by making use of different materials and complex trench layouts are briefly presented and reviewed. It is acknowledged that an evaluation in frequency domain may offer an effective tool to retrofit existing urban road exposed to this issue.