In-Service Performance Evaluation (ISPE) of Median Cable Barriers and Strong-Post W-Beam Guardrails on Interstate 85 in Alabama
Publication: International Conference on Transportation and Development 2021
ABSTRACT
This study presents an in-service performance evaluation (ISPE) of high-tension median cable barriers and strong-post W-beam guardrails along Interstate 85 (I-85) in the State of Alabama. Crash data from 2012 to 2016 were used. The study compares the safety performance of median cable barriers and median guardrails in terms of crossover/non-crossover percentages and injury crash percentages. The study also conducts an ISPE of roadside guardrails on I-85. Extensive data collection effort has been made through reviewing in detail police reports and capturing features rarely explored in previous studies, e.g., median width, left shoulder width, barrier offset distance or lateral position (i.e., distance from barrier to median edge), blockout type, and number of cables/strands. A total of 495 crashes were used, broken down as 220 median cable barrier crashes (MCBCs), 79 median guardrail crashes (MGCs), and 196 roadside guardrail crashes (RGCs). Roadside guardrails showed the highest success in preventing crossover crashes (98%), followed by median cable barriers (94.5%), and finally median guardrails (86.1%). Median cable barriers were more successful in preventing sport utility vehicle (SUV) crossovers (91.2% success rate) compared to median guardrails (79.2% success rate). Median cable barriers had less injury crash involvement (12.7%) compared to median W-beam guardrails (34.2%). It was also found that composite blockouts were more involved in injury-related median guardrail crashes (32.9%), as opposed to roadside guardrail crashes (23.3%). Some recommendations from the study have included ensuring installing cable barriers on medians that are at least 50-ft wide, as well as ensuring installing W-beam guardrails on medians that are 50–70-ft wide.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this chapter.
REFERENCES
AASHTO (American Association of State Highways and Transportation Officials). (2009). Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH). “Improvement of Procedures for the Safety-Performance Evaluation of Roadside Features”, Washington, D.C.
Alluri, P., Gan, A., Haleem, K., and Mauthner, J. (2015). “Safety Performance of G4 (1S) W-Beam Guardrails versus Cable Median Barriers on Florida’s Freeways.” Journal of Transportation Safety & Security, 7(3), 208-227.
Alluri, P., Haleem, K., and Gan, A. (2013a). In-Service Performance Evaluation (ISPE) for G4 (1S) Type of Strong-Post W-Beam Guardrail System and Cable Median Barrier: Volume I., Florida Department of Transportation, Tallahassee, FL.
Alluri, P., Haleem, K., and Gan, A. (2013b). In-Service Performance Evaluation (ISPE) for G4 (1S) Type of Strong-Post W-Beam Guardrail System and Cable Median Barrier: Volume II., Florida Department of Transportation, Tallahassee, FL.
Carrigan, C., Ray, M., Ray, A., and RoadSafe, L. L. C. (2017). “Evaluating the Performance of Roadside Hardware.” Proc., 96th Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board, Washington, D.C.
Chandler, B. (2007). “Eliminating Cross-Median Fatalities.” TR News, 248, 29-31.
Chimba, D., Ruhazwe, E., Allen, S., and Waters, J. (2017). “Digesting the Safety Effectiveness of Cable Barrier Systems by Numbers.” Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 95, 227-237.
Cooner, S., Rathod, Y., Alberson, D., Bligh, R., Ranft, S., and Sun, D. (2009). Development of Guidelines for Cable Median Barrier Systems in Texas., Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) & Texas Department of Transportation (Research and Technology Implementation Office), Austin, TX.
Daniello, A., and Gabler, H. (2011). “The Effect of Barrier Type on Injury Severity in Motorcycle to Barrier Collisions in North Carolina, Texas, and New Jersey.” Transportation Research Record, 2262(1), 144-151.
Donnell, E., and Mason, J. (2006). “Predicting the Frequency of Median Barrier Crashes on Pennsylvania Interstate Highways.” Accident Analysis & Prevention, 38(3), 590-599.
FHWA (Federal Highway Administration). Memorandum: State Guidelines for Cable Median Barriers. <https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/roadway_dept/countermeasures/reduce_crash_severity/policy_memo/memo042516/memo042516.pdf> (July 13, 2018).
Google Maps. <http://www.maps.google.com/> (June 10, 2018).
Igharo, P., Munger, E., and Glad, R. (2004). In-Service Performance of Guardrail Terminals in Washington State., Washington State Department of Transportation, Olympia, WA.
Lan, B., Srinivasan, R., Carter, D., Persaud, B., and Eccles, K. (2018). “Safety Evaluation of Cable Median Barriers in Combination with Rumble Strips on Divided Roads.” Proc., 97th Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board, Washington, D.C.
Qin, X., Wang, F., Bill, A., Chitturi, M., and Noyce, D. (2010). Evaluation of High-Tension Cable Barriers in Wisconsin., Wisconsin Department of Transportation, Madison, WI.
Ray, M., Weir, J., and Hopp, J. (2003). In-Service Performance of Traffic Barriers., Transportation Research Board, Washington, D.C.
Reid, J., Kuipers, B., Sicking, D., and Faller, R. (2009). “Impact Performance of W-Beam Guardrail Installed at Various Flare Rates.” International Journal of Impact Engineering, 36(3), 476-485.
Ross, H., Sicking, D., Zimmer, R., and Michie, J. (1993). Recommended Procedures for the Safety Performance Evaluation of Highway Features., Transportation Research Board, Washington, D.C.
Savolainen, P., Kirsch, T., Hamzeie, R., Johari, M., and Nightingale, E. (2018). In-Service Performance Evaluation of Median Cable Barriers in Iowa., Iowa Department of Transportation, Ames, IA.
Short, D., and Robertson, L. (1998). “Motor Vehicle Death Reductions from Guardrail Installation.” Journal of Transportation Engineering, 124(5), 501-502.
Stolle, C., and Reid, J. (2017). “Compatibility of Passenger Vehicles and Cable Median Barrier Systems.” Proc., ASME 2017 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Tampa, FL.
Villwock, N., Blond, N., and Tarko, A. (2011). “Cable Barriers and Traffic Safety on Rural Interstates.” Journal of Transportation Engineering, 137(4), 248-259.
Zou, Y., and Tarko, A. (2016). Performance Assessment of Road Barriers in Indiana., FHWA, U.S. Department of Transportation, Washington, D.C.
Zou, Y., and Tarko, A. (2018). “Barrier-Relevant Crash Modification Factors and Average Costs of Crashes on Arterial Roads in Indiana.” Accident Analysis & Prevention, 111, 71-85.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
International Conference on Transportation and Development 2021
Pages: 121 - 133
Copyright
© 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Published online: Jun 4, 2021
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.