Development and Evaluation of Box-Beam Barrier Configuration for Shielding Fixed Objects and Bridge Ends in Medians

The objective of this research effort is to develop, crash test, and evaluate the Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) narrow-median box-beam guardrail system according to the TL-3 safety performance criteria found in the Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH). The outcome of this study will be a flared, minimal-length, cost-effective, narrow-median box-beam guardrail system. The system will be available for WYDOT and other state DOTs to implement into box-beam standard plans immediately upon project closing. Funding of this research effort will bolster two of the goals listed in the WYDOT Guiding Principles. One WYDOT goal achieved by completion of this study is to provide safe, reliable, and effective transportation systems. Installation of the WYDOT narrow-median box-beam barrier system on the roadway will improve occupant safety in two ways. First, the proposed system is flared, which not only reduces the overall length of the system but also moves the system away from the roadway, decreasing the frequency of impact from errant vehicles. Second, if an impact does occur, the system will be designed, tested, and evaluated in a narrow-median configuration to current MASH TL-3 crash test safety criteria. This system will serve as a crashworthy option that currently isn’t included in WYDOT box-beam standard plans. The second goal achieved by completion of this study is to encourage and support innovation. Research detailed herein will require the integration of four different roadside safety devices into a single, crashworthy system. This type of barrier configuration poses several challenges that have not been addressed in previous testing of box-beam systems including backside impacts on roadside box-beam guardrail and box-beam end terminals as well as impacts on flared box-beam systems. Innovation will be required to not only to ensure the crashworthiness of these systems tested in different configurations, but also to ensure the transition from one system to another is also crashworthy. To reiterate, flared barriers reduce the overall system length and amount of barrier immediately adjacent to the roadway when compared to tangent systems. As such, a flared system improves installation time and efficiency while minimizing labor and material cost. Moreover, because flared systems decrease the frequency of impacts, accident costs and repair costs are also reduced.

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Funding: $799998
• Contract Numbers:

  RS06223

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Wyoming Department of Transportation

  5300 Bishop Boulevard
  Cheyenne, WY  United States  82009-3340
• Managing Organizations:

  University of Wyoming, Laramie

  Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering
  1000 East University Avenue
  Laramie, WY  United States  82071
• Project Managers:

  Wilson, William

• Performing Organizations:

  University of Wyoming, Laramie

  Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering
  1000 East University Avenue
  Laramie, WY  United States  82071
• Principal Investigators:

  Perry, Brandon

• Start Date: 20230512
• Expected Completion Date: 20260515
• Actual Completion Date: 0

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Box beams; Crash tests; Crashworthiness; Guardrails
• Identifier Terms: AASHTO Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware
• Geographic Terms: Wyoming
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Design; Highways; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01881976
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Wyoming Department of Transportation
• Contract Numbers: RS06223
• Files: RIP, STATEDOT
• Created Date: May 12 2023 1:48PM