EFFECT OF BRIDGE SHOULDER WIDTH ON TRAFFIC OPERATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS (ABRIDGMENT)

A before and after field study was carried out to evaluate the effects of providing full width shoulders across long-span bridge structures as a means of improving traffic and safety. This study was carried out in two major stages. The first stage consisted of studying the effect of various bridge shoulder curb widths on the operational characteristics of vehicles on the bridge. The second stage consisted of making these same studies on the effects of various bridge shoulder curb widths with a guardrail type of barrier flush with the face of the curb and offset 2 ft. from the face of the curb. The following conclusions were reached after the results of the study were evaluated: Vehicle speed and placement data may be combined for different days of the week without any major loss of information; Relative location had a significant effect on speeds as the vehicles moved through the test sections; All curb conditions had a significant effect on vehicular speeds; There is significant interaction between positions and conditions and conditions for vehicle placements; Vehicles travel farther from the roadway edge at the center of the bridge under all curbing conditions; Vehicles travel farther from the shoulder at the center and the upstream and downstream ends of the bridge; With the 6 ft. curb, vehicles tend to move slightly away from the shoulder edge as they cross the bridge, then tend to overcorrect, and move nearer the shoulder downstream of the bridge.

• Record URL:
  http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/trr/1976/601/601-014.pdf
• Summary URL:
  http://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=EFFECT+OF+BRIDGE+SHOULDER+WIDTH+ON+TRAFFIC+OPERATIONAL+CHARACTERISTICS+(ABRIDGMENT)&author=R.+Roberts&publication_year=1976
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/03611981
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Publication of this paper sponsored by Committee on Operational Effects of Geometrics. 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:
  • Roberts, Robert R
• Publication Date: 1976

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Pagination: pp 73-75
• Monograph Title: Freeways, automatic vehicle identification, and effects of geometrics
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record
  • Issue Number: 601
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0361-1981

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Before and after studies; Bridges; Curbs; Highway operations; Motor vehicles; Road shoulders; Safety; Speed; Traffic; Traffic speed; Width
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00153163
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 0309025702
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: May 31 1977 12:00AM