Guidelines for Attachments to Bridge Rails and Median Barriers

摘要

Highway agencies are often presented with a need to add attachments, such as pedestrian and bicycle railings, highway signage, glare screening fences, and luminaire poles, to the top or backside faces of successfully crash-tested traffic barriers. It is not practical to conduct full-scale crash tests for all attachments typically used on or adjacent to these barriers. Presently, highway agencies must evaluate proposed attachments based on the available information, but to date there has been limited guidance for evaluation of the potential implications of placing an attachment on or adjacent to a crashworthy barrier. The objective of this research study was to develop guidelines for the placement and design of traffic barriers attachments by collecting and analyzing crash test data of bridge rails and median barriers and information on common traffic barrier attachments on the roadways.