REPORT ON HIGHWAYS WITH A NARROW MEDIAN-MICHIGAN

EXPERIMENTS WERE CONDUCTED IN MICHIGAN ON A NARROW DIVIDER STRIP PLACED DIRECTLY ON THE PAVEMENT. TWO TYPES OF DESIGN WERE SELECTED: ONE OF BITUMINOUS CONCRETE, AND ONE OF PORTLAND CEMENT CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION. THE EXPERIMENT WITH THE BITUMINOUS CONCRETE NARROW DIVIDER STRIP IS DESCRIBED. IT WAS DETERMINED THAT CONSTRUCTION OF THE BITUMINOUS DIVIDER STRIP AND PAVEMENT WIDENING COULD BE ACCOMPLISHED WITHOUT COMPLETELY DISRUPTING THE TRAFFIC. COST OF THE BITUMINOUS CONCRETE MEDIAN IS CONSIDERABLY LESS THAN THAT OF PORTLAND CEMENT CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION. AFTER FOUR MONTHS OF OPERATION, IT IS SAFE TO ASSUME THAT NEARLY ALL OF THE OPPOSITE DIRECTIONAL TYPE OF ACCIDENTS HAVE BEEN ELIMINATED. THE SEVERITY OF OTHER TYPES OF ACCIDENTS HAS ALSO BEEN CONSIDERABLY REDUCED SINCE THE INSTALLATION OF THE DIVIDER STRIP. THIS SUCCESSFUL DIVIDER STRIP WAS CONSTRUCTED WITH TWO LAYERS, 36 INCHES AT THE BOTTOM, 24 INCHES AT THE TOP, WITH EACH LAYER 2 AND 1/2 IN. THICK. THE 24-IN. TOP PROVIDES A WIDER SIDING SURFACE, WHICH IN TURN DISTINCTLY INCREASES THE OVERALL VISIBILITY OF THE MEDIAN.

• Record URL:
  • http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/hrbbulletin/35/35-005.pdf
• Supplemental Notes:
  • No 35, pp 56-70, 13 FIG, 9 PHOT, 1 APP Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved
• Authors:
  • Weber, C A
• Publication Date: 1951

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Pagination: pp 56-70
• Monograph Title: Highways with a narrow median
• Serial:
  • Highway Research Board Bulletin
  • Issue Number: 35
  • Publisher: Highway Research Board

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Asphalt concrete; Crash severity; Experiments; Frontal crashes; Medians; Pavement widening; Portland cement concrete; Prevention; Safety
• Old TRIS Terms: Narrow objects
• Subject Areas: Design; Highways; Safety and Human Factors; Security and Emergencies;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00203384
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: May 5 1994 12:00AM