Neighborhood Noise Barriers Act of 2016

Neighborhood Noise Barriers Act of 2016

This bill amends the National Highway System Designation Act of 1995 to allow the use of funds out of the Highway Trust Fund to construct a Type II noise barrier along a federal-aid highway, if it:

• is part of a project approved by the Department of Transportation before November 28, 1995; or
• separates a highway or other noise corridor from a group of structures of which the majority of those closest to the highway or noise corridor are residential in nature, and either were constructed before the construction or most recent widening of the highway or noise corridor, or are at least 10 years old.

The bill makes the planning, design, or construction of a Type II noise barrier eligible for surface transportation block grant program funding.