In my opinion, those "strong, deep barriers" are an awfully time consuming and potentially expensive solution. My grandfather planted some bamboo along his whole fence-line about 50 years ago. The bamboo still grows.....on the fenceline. Don't ask me how he did it. You just need to get the right bamboo for the right job. Sounds like you require a clumping bamboo, not a runner.

JJgnce has good advice. Other posters have sujested root pruning as needed. I would contact the Bamboo Society that is closest to me, and get some ideas from them if I was going to start a first project. Many folks who answer questions there have so much expierence with boo, that it can save a ton of time by choosing the right bamboo for the job in the first place. They are a good information source along with forums like this. As well, if you can go to a place where the plants grow in ground, in groves, and are propagated from that,into pots, rather than a nursery, where its all out on top of the ground in pots and you cant see what the type you are buying does,. It might give you a better idea. Im not against buying it from nursery, if you know exacly what you want and they have it. The main drawback to what I have seen folks do, is that they sometimes dont have much set back from the road to thier house, (20ft or less) and they dont keep on the control, and then the stuff is up against the windows. If you love bamboo, its pretty, and interesting, but you have to wonder if thats what the person intended.The good thing is that Besides providing shade, and screening, its a bird magnet. Any how, Id do it,(with out the barrier) If I were you.

Thanks, guys. I'll have to do some searching for a Bamboo Society near me in NJ. Just one more quick follow up question - do "clumpers" grow as quickly as runners?

I dont know about that, but you want "The American Bamboo Society" or some local chapter of the same. Good luck!