Impact of longer lengths of temporary barrier
Work Zone Traffic Control Devices > Portable Barriers
I am often asked what impact that long freestanding temporary barrier installations (for example 1 mile) have on deflection. For example, the report 607911-1&2 tested a temporary barrier installations that was 201′ long (16 – 12.5′ length f shape barriers) and showed permanent deflection of 34″ for Test 3-10 and 61.5″ for Test 3-11. Is it known whether a longer installation length reduce deflections?
Nauman Sheikh ( [email protected]) Texas A&M Transportation Institute
Hi Brad,
I reviewed the pickup truck test of the free-standing F-shape barrier mentioned in your question. This was MASH Test 3-11, TTI Test No. 607911-2. I have attached two photos of the upstream end of the barrier system after the test. The orange paint lines were marked before the test to identify the position of the barrier’s end. As you can see, there was some movement of the upstream end due to the vehicle impact, however, this movement was relatively small (less than 2 inches). The downstream stream doesn’t seem to have any movement from one of the videos, but we don’t have a photo of that end.
Based on the above, even though there was some movement of the upstream end, the movement is too small to have a significant impact on the overall deflection of the barrier. Thus, even if a larger length of the barrier system is installed, the barrier is expected to have similar lateral deflection.
If you need more information, please let me know.
Best regards,
Nauman Sheikh
[email protected]