Benefit-Cost Analysis of Portable Concrete Barrier Use in Work Zones to Protect Against Intrusion Crashes

The objective of this study was to evaluate the benefits and costs associated with the use of portable concrete barriers (PCBs) in work zones to protect workers and equipment against intrusion crashes. This study used an encroachment-based tool; the Roadside Safety Analysis Program (RSAP) to perform the analysis. Researchers customized certain aspects of RSAP to make it more suitable for a work zone analysis. This included current PCB costs, comprehensive crash costs, and adjustment to encroachment rate to represent a work zone situation. Unlike previous efforts that modeled individual workers and equipment as spot hazards, researchers chose to represent the entire work area as a single hazard for this study. The analysis found that for high speed multilane freeway facilities where work is occurring immediately adjacent to travel lanes, intrusion crash costs savings alone can justify PCB protection once the roadway ADT approaches 40,000 vpd over a year-long work zone, so long as there are constant hazards in the work space being protected by barrier.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper was sponsored by TRB committee AHB55(1) Positive Protection in Work Zones
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Iragavarapu, Vichika
  • Ullman, Gerald L
• Conference:
  • Transportation Research Board 91st Annual Meeting
  • Location: Washington DC, United States
  • Date: 2012-1-22 to 2012-1-26
• Date: 2012

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 16p
• Monograph Title: TRB 91st Annual Meeting Compendium of Papers DVD

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Average travel speed; Benefit cost analysis; Crashes; Temporary barriers; Work zone safety; Work zone traffic control
• Identifier Terms: Roadside Safety Analysis Program
• Subject Areas: Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Safety and Human Factors; I85: Safety Devices used in Transport Infrastructure;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01364038
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 12-1840
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Feb 29 2012 12:33PM