Emergency Opening System for an Authorized Vehicle Lane (105-1F)

An emergency opening system (EOS) for an authorized vehicle lane was developed and crash tested. The design consisted of two steel box tubes mounted on top of each other. The beams were supported by pins at the ends that were connected to modified concrete median barrier sections. Factors considered in the development of the system were ease of operation and ability to redirect errant vehicles. Three full-scale crash tests were conducted to evaluate the impact behavior of the design. All of the occupant risk values as well as the vehicle trajectory hazard were below recommended values for all of the crash tests. In addition, the EOS was still operational after the first two tests. The system was not operational after the third test because the anchorage system for the downstream concrete median barrier failed. Several modifications in the design of the EOS were recommended to improve the operation of the system. These changes were a result of observations of the construction and crash testing of the system.