NEW STRUCTURES CONCEPTS FOR HIGHWAY SAFETY

THE STRUCTURAL SYSTEMS IN SUPPORT OF HIGHWAY SAFETY (4S) PROGRAM SPONSORED BY THE BUREAU OF PUBLIC ROADS IS A SHORT- RANGE, QUICK PAYOFF RESEARCH ENDEAVOR DESIGNED TO REDUCE THE SEVERITY OF SINGLE VEHICLE ACCIDENTS ON THE NATION'S HIGHWAYS. THE OBJECTIVES OF THIS ACCELERATED PROGRAM ARE TO: (1) DEVELOP STRUCTURAL SYSTEMS CONCEPTS FOR THE ELIMINATION OF RIGID OBSTACLES AND OTHER OBSTRUCTIONS ALONG THE HIGHWAYS, AND (2) DEVELOP DEVICES AND STRUCTURAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR VEHICLE IMPACT ATTENUATION, DEFLECTION, OR ENTRAPMENT TO ASSURE THAT COLLISIONS WITH THESE DEVICES WILL BE OF MINIMUM SEVERITY. AN EXAMINATION OF THE STATISTICS ON SINGLE VEHICLE COLLISIONS CONFIRMED THE ADVISABILITY OF RESEARCHING BOTH APPROACHES TO THE PROBLEM. VOLUME I OF THIS REPORT SUMMARIZES RESEARCH ACTIVITIES CONDUCTED IN RESPONSE TO REQUIREMENTS FOR DEVELOPING NEW, CABLE SUPPORTED STRUCTURES DESIGN CONCEPTS THAT WILL PERMIT REMOVAL OF MASSIVE SUPPORT STRUCTURES FROM THE AREA ADJACENT TO THE ROADWAY. VOLUME II CONTAINS RESULTS OF THE PROGRAM PRESENTED AS ARTIST'S SKETCHES, TABULATIONS OF ENGINEERING DATA, PRELIMINARY DESIGN DRAWINGS, DESIGN ASSUMPTIONS AND CRITERIA, AND COST ESTIMATES FOR THE FABRICATION OF PROTOTYPE STRUCTURES, AND SUBSEQUENT PROCUREMENT IN QUANTITY. THREE NEW BRIDGE CONCEPTS WHICH EMPLOY CABLE SUPPORTS ARE ADVANCED AS FEASIBLE STRUCTURAL SCHEMES FOR EFFECTING THE REMOVAL OF MASSIVE SUPPORT STRUCTURES FROM THE AREA ADJACENT TO THE ROADWAY. VOLUME III CONTAINS SUPPORTING DATA FOR BOTH VOLUME I (RESEARCH INFORMATION) AND VOLUME II (PRELIMINARY DESIGNS AND ENGINEERING DATA). A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF LITERATURE REVIEWED DURING THE CONCEPT INDENTIFICATION PROCESS, DETAILED METHODS OF ANALYSIS FOR EIGHT BRIDGE CONCEPTS GIVEN DESIGN ATTENTION, AND ENGINEERING DATA FOR TWO CONCEPTS (NOT SELECTED FOR DETAILED ATTENTION) ARE INCLUDED. CALCULATIONS FOR BRIDGE CONCEPT PRELIMINARY DESIGNS, COMPUTER PROGRAMS, AND SIGN AND LIGHTING SYSTEM ANALYSIS METHODS, INCLUDING COMMENTS ON DYNAMIC ANALYSIS, ARE INCLUDED AS AUGMENTIVE INFORMATION FOR THE HIGHWAY ENGINEER WHO WISHES TO PURSUE, IN DETAIL, ONE OR MORE OF THE DESIGN CONCEPTS PRESENTED IN VOLUME II. METHODS OF ANALYSIS, COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTINGS, AND COMPUTER PROGRAM PRINTOUTS FOR THE PRELIMINARY DESIGNS PRESENTED IN VOLUME II ARE ALSO CONTAINED HEREIN. /AUTHOR/

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Adm ContracT, 03-2173, FH 11-6638
• Corporate Authors:

  Southwest Research Institute

  6220 Culebra Road, P.O. Drawer 28510
  San Antonio, TX  United States  78228-0510

  Bureau of Public Roads /US

  400 7th Street, SW
  Washington, DC  United States  20590

  Texas State Department of Highways & Public Transp

  11th and Brazos Streets
  Austin, TX  United States  78701
• Publication Date: 1969-9

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bridge design; Bridges; Cables; Crash severity; Hazards; Highway design; Highway safety; Impacts; Motor vehicles; Prevention; Reviews; Roadside; Safety; Single vehicle crashes; Structural design; Structural supports; Structures
• Uncontrolled Terms: Attenuation
• Old TRIS Terms: Supports
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Design; Highways; Safety and Human Factors; Security and Emergencies;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00219732
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Bureau of Public Roads /US
• Files: TRIS, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Dec 22 1994 12:00AM