This study investigated the noise associated with highway construction activities. It involved the identification and examination of: highway construction activities, noise characteristics associated with highway construction activities, availability of highway construction noise abatement measures, demonstration of construction site noise abatement measures, and development of a computer-based model for use as a tool to predict the noise impact of construction activities and to plan mitigation measures. The model was developed for use on the FHWA computer (IBM 360). A total of seven reports were prepared in this study and have been released for public distribution. This report (Part A) contains all of the information from the engineering study phase of the project. It gives information on highway construction procedures, highway construction site noise characteristics, available abatement measures, and results from field demonstrations on noise abatement.