CRASH TESTING AND EVALUATION OF WORK ZONE BARRICADES

Proper traffic control and delineation are critical to achieving safety in work zones. However, the work zone traffic control devices themselves may pose a safety hazard to vehicle occupants or work crews when impacted by errant vehicles. Thus, there was a need to research the safety performance of work zone traffic control devices to ensure that they perform satisfactorily and meet National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 350 guidelines. Several research studies sponsored by the Texas Department of Transportation evaluated the impact performance of various work zone traffic control devices, such as temporary and portable sign supports, plastic drums, sign substrates for use with plastic drums, traffic cones, and vertical panels. Specifically addressed are the studies on barricades. Standard wooden barricade construction was found to be unacceptable due to a demonstrated potential for intrusion of fractured members into the occupant compartment. In response to deficiencies identified in the wooden barricade tests, several alternate barricade designs were developed and successfully tested.

• Record URL:
  • https://doi.org/10.3141/1650-05
• Summary URL:
  • http://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=CRASH+TESTING+AND+EVALUATION+OF+WORK+ZONE+BARRICADES&author=R.+Bligh&author=K.+Mak&author=L.+Rhodes&publication_year=1998
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/0309065224
• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper appears in Transportation Research Record No. 1650, Part 2, Maintenance Challenges and Safety Issues.
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Bligh, R P
  • Mak, K K
  • Rhodes Jr, L R
• Publication Date: 1998

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References;
• Pagination: p. 36-44
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record
  • Issue Number: 1650
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0361-1981

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Barricades; Crash tests; Crashes; Deficiencies; Design; Performance evaluations; Safety; Testing; Work zone traffic control
• Subject Areas: Design; Highways; Maintenance and Preservation; Operations and Traffic Management; Research; Safety and Human Factors; I60: Maintenance; I73: Traffic Control; I85: Safety Devices used in Transport Infrastructure;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00757587
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 0309065224
• Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: Dec 18 1998 12:00AM