I need ideas for good sound barriers.

tall, dense pine trees or a water feature.

fruit producing vines and shrubs are nice. Maybe build a wooden fence and put grapes, berries, kiwi or passion fruit, and some fruit trees on Your side of it. That way the wood can absorb and maybe reflect the sound and the plants can further insulate the remaining sound while providing food!

A gurgling brook or small waterfall or fountain helps to drown out the "whoosh" sound of traffic.

Water features do require maintenance but are worth the time investment.

Hope that helps

: )

cedar trees set in rows will take two rows to completely cover, they grow fast

We have an Interstate highway close to our home too. Most of the time we can ignore the traffic sounds, but some of the trucks have tires and motors that screech and scream at a pitch that rubs your nerves raw. The state owns the land on either side of the highway for approx. 600 feet. (Easement). Ask your local county highway commission what sound reducing methods can be incorporated to give residents more ease. There has been a lot of research on this subject and the various conditions the interstate runs through determines which methods work best. . We have a lot of trees that help absorb the noise, both on our property and the states. The county installed earthen berms in some sections. Manmade stone panels act as a sound barrier in other areas.

Here at our house, we have added more insulation to the house (walls and roof) and when windows need replacing, chose a good sound cancelling construction. (Before replacing our ill-fitted windows, we added new weather stripping to the old ones which not only reduced the sound transmissions, but kept out the cold wind. Replacing the old windows gave us a quieter house and lowered our fuel bill). Living north of the snow belt in Michigan, we get plenty of snow, and even snow on the ground has sound muffling quality to it.

Try to line the walls with furniture- they will absorb some of the noise

On one of the hgtv renovation shows the renovators (couple with three little sons) built a fence with wooden horizontal slats that as I recall where sort of woven.