Development of Test Level 1 Timber Curb-Type Railing for Use on Transverse, Timber, Nail Laminated Deck Bridges

The West Virginia Division of Highways is responsible for the construction, maintenance, and repair of many bridges that utilize transverse, timber, nail-laminated deck systems placed on steel wide-flanged girders and with 6-in X 6-in timber curb railings. Although many of the bridges have standard roadway widths of 32 feet or more, some bridges are configured with widths of only 12 to 14 ft, as measured curb to curb. Since several narrow bridges exist, there has been a need to use a low-profile railing system in order to allow for the passage of large trucks and house trailers across these bridges. According to Section 3.2.2 of the WV Bridge Design Manual, all new or replacement bridge barriers shall meet or exceed crash testing criteria. Unfortunately, no crashworthy curb-type bridge railing systems have been developed for use on these type bridges. In 1993, researchers at the Midwest Roadside Safety Facility (MwRSF) developed three low-height, timber curb-type railings for longitudinal, glue-laminated timber deck bridges. The objective of this research is to adapt and evaluate MwRSF's TL-1 curb-type bridge railing for use on transverse, timber, nail-laminated bridge decks supported by steel wide-flange beams. If necessary, the railing system will be redesigned to meet the TL-1 impact safety standards that are currently being revised in the update to NCHRP Report No. 350 "Recommended Procedures for the Safety Performance Evaluation of Highway Features."

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Active
• Funding: $136491.00
• Contract Numbers:

  RP 238

• Sponsor Organizations:

  University of Nebraska, Lincoln

  527 Nebraska Hall
  Lincoln, NE  United States  68588-0529

  West Virginia Department of Highways

  1900 Kanawha Building East
  Charleston, WV  United States  25365

  Federal Highway Administration

  700 Washington Street, East
  Charleston, WV  United States  25301
• Performing Organizations:

  University of Nebraska, Lincoln

  527 Nebraska Hall
  Lincoln, NE  United States  68588-0529
• Start Date: 20071001
• Expected Completion Date: 0
• Actual Completion Date: 20090228
• Source Data: RiP Project 17760

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bridge decks; Curbs; Highway bridges; Laminated wood; Research projects; Timber construction; Wooden bridges
• Geographic Terms: West Virginia
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Design; Highways; Research;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01459883
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: West Virginia Department of Highways
• Contract Numbers: RP 238
• Files: RiP, USDOT, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Jan 3 2013 1:14PM