RAILING SYSTEMS FOR USE ON TIMBER DECK BRIDGES

Bridge railing systems in the United States have historically been designed based on static load criteria given in the AASHTO "Standard Specifications for Highway Bridges." In the past decade, full-scale vehicle crash testing has been recognized as a more appropriate and reliable method of evaluating bridge railing acceptability. In 1989, AASHTO published the "Guide Specifications for Bridge Railings," which gave the recommendations and procedures to evaluate bridge rails by full-scale vehicle crash testing. In 1993, the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) published Report 350, "Recommended Procedures for the Safety Performance Evaluation of Highway Features," which provided criteria for evaluating longitudinal barriers. Based on these specifications, a cooperative research program was initiated between the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the Forest Products Laboratory, and later the Federal Highway Administration, to develop and crash test 11 bridge rails for wood deck bridges. The research that resulted in successful development and testing of 11 bridge railing systems for longitudinally and transversely laminated wood bridge decks in accordance with AASHTO Performance Level 1 and 2 (PL-1 and PL-2) requirements and Test Levels 1, 2, and 4 (TL-1, TL-2, and TL-4) requirements of NCHRP Report 350 are described here.

• Record URL:
  • https://doi.org/10.3141/1656-15
• Summary URL:
  • http://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=RAILING+SYSTEMS+FOR+USE+ON+TIMBER+DECK+BRIDGES&author=R.+Faller&author=M.+Ritter&author=B.+Rosson&author=S.+Duwadi&publication_year=1999
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/0309070546
• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper appears in Transportation Research Record No. 1656, Underground and Other Structural Design Issues.
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Faller, R K
  • Ritter, M A
  • Rosson, B T
  • Duwadi, S R
• Publication Date: 1999

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: Figures; Photos; References; Tables;
• Pagination: p. 110-119
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record
  • Issue Number: 1656
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0361-1981

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bridge railings; Crash tests; Performance evaluations; Safety; Specifications; Wooden bridges
• Identifier Terms: American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials; National Cooperative Highway Research Program; NCHRP Report 350
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Design; Highways; Research; Safety and Human Factors; I24: Design of Bridges and Retaining Walls;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00769375
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 0309070546
• Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: Sep 3 1999 12:00AM