Development and Crash Testing of the Hawaii Concrete Post and Beam Bridge Rail

Report Number(s): TRP-03-478b-25

Description: The new Hawaii Concrete Post and Beam Bridge Rail was a 36-in. tall open concrete barrier with a pedestrian handrail mounted to the backside of the railing. The same test installation was used for both test nos. HNTBR-2 and HNTBR-3, only the impact location was changed. The Hawaii Concrete Post and Beam Bridge Rail featured a 16½-in. tall by 17-in. wide concrete rail supported by 12-in. x 12-in. x 9½-in. tall concrete posts spaced 90 in. apart. The post and-beam railing was mounted on top of a 10-in. tall by 17-in. wide concrete curb such that the face of the railing was flush with the face of the curb. The test installation had a length of 70 ft – 7 in. and was comprised of three 23.5-ft long rail segments with ½-in. expansion joins placed at the end of each rail segment. The rail, posts, and curb were reinforced with a combination of transverse and longitudinal rebar. The rail had nine longitudinal #6 bars and #4 hoop stirrups. Reinforcement in the posts consisted of four #7 vertical bars spaced equally along the traffic face of each post with four #4 vertical bars spaced along the non-traffic side. All vertical bars in the posts were enclosed by five #4 stirrups that were spaced at 2¾ in. Reinforcement of the curb consisted of three longitudinal #5 bars and U-shaped #5 transverse bars. The U-shaped transverse reinforcing bars were epoxied into the concrete tarmac to a depth of 6 in. using Hilti HIT RE-500 epoxy. All of the rebar was epoxy coated. Note, the pedestrian handrail on the backside of the railing was not a critical structural member and did not play a part in the vehicle crash tests. Thus, the new Hawaii Concrete Post and Beam Bridge Rail is MASH TL-3 crashworthy with or without the attachment of the pedestrian handrail.

Test Level: 3

Barrier Type: Concrete Post and Beam

MASH Test Number: 3-10, 3-11

Proprietary/Non-proprietary: Non-proprietary

Pass/Fail: Pass

Evaluation: Full-Scale Crash Testing

Sponsor: Hawaii Department of Transportation