Road Safety Barrier Systems standards have changed over time.Consequently most road authorities have a variety of barrier systemswithin their jurisdiction and difficulties may be experienced in determiningwhich sub-standard barriers create the greatest risk. This project,conducted in association with the Southern District of the Department ofMain Roads, Queensland, sought to determine a method for prioritisingremedial works on sub-standard barriers.The project is focused upon the local authority areas of Esk, Gatton andLaidley. A review of design standards and strategies employed andproposed by other state and overseas road authorities was performed.Further work developed a prioritisation method by which remedial workscan be programmed upon federal, state and local government controlledroads.The developed prioritisation method uses an assessment tool to evaluateindividual guardrail sections against 3 specified criteria: traffic volume,traffic composition and guardrail standard. It is imperative to bear in mindthat the developed procedure is a tool and that results must be executedin conjunction with good engineering judgement.Key findings of the project were:- It is advantageous to have crash barrier data held by the roadauthority in a single, regularly updated database;- Significant variations in traffic volume and/or composition along alength of road need to be discerned if an accurate assessment ofvariations in risk are to be calculated;- The study has found a high priority should be given to locations whereguard rail is no longer required or a roadside hazard can be removedor reduced; and- The financial implications of retrofitting all non compliant guardrail inthe Southern District of the Department of Main Roads are significant.
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