TTI Research Supervisor: William Williams, P.E. Associate Research Engineer Texas A&M Transportation Institute Texas A&M University System TAMU 3135, College Station, Texas, 77843-3135 (979) 317-2707 [email protected]
Pooled Fund Technical Representative: Kenneth Shannon, P.E. Senior Engineer Highway Design Ministry of Transportation, Ontario, Canada (289) 783-4348 [email protected]
ABSTRACT
Concrete barriers are prone to damage, which often results in gaps requiring prompt field repairs. Common interim solutions—such as W-beam guardrails, thrie beam guardrails, and steel plates—are frequently used by maintenance teams due to their cost-effectiveness and ease of installation. This project focused on developing a MASH Test Level 3 (TL-3) compliant bridging barrier gap design and established the maximum safe gap width between concrete barrier segments. The design concepts were based on the Ontario Tall Wall Median Barrier, utilizing a single 12-gauge thrie beam guardrail with a 6-inch steel rub rail plate installed at the base of an F-shape concrete barrier.
A finite element (FE) model was developed to evaluate performance across a range of gap widths (18 to 72 inches) in LS-DYNA impact simulations with both small car and pickup truck. Based on the simulation findings, the 60-inch gap was determined to be the maximum width at which the bridging barrier system likely pass the MASH TL-3 requirements for both small car and pickup truck.
