MASH Test 3-11 of the TXDOT Portable Type 2 PCTB with Sign Support Assembly (0-6143-1)

Portable concrete traffic barriers (PCTBs) are commonly used in work zones or in temporary median barrier applications. PCTBs are needed for separation and channelization of vehicle movement and for worker protection. Signage is often necessary wherever PCTBs are used. Placement of signs where driver visibility is optimal is often necessary. It might be desirable to place signs in the shoulder of the left hand lane between the PCTB and the roadway. Signs placed in the shoulder of roadways are often supported by skids that are weighted down with sand bags. Often, there is not enough shoulder width for these skid-type sign supports. One solution would be to mount the sign supports directly on the PCTB. The goal of this project was to develop a sign support mount connection that could be incorporated into the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) standard specifications for sign supports used in construction zones. This report presents the details of the design developed for mounting the traffic control sign support on top a PCTB, description of the full scale crash test performed on the design, and an assessment and evaluation of the performance of the PCTB with the sign support mounted on top according to specifications of Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH). The PCTB mounted sign support assembly anchored to the top of the TxDOT Type 2 PCTB tested for this project performed acceptably for MASH test 3-11. Based on the successful crash performance, the sign support assembly anchored to the top of the TxDOT Type 2 PCTB, in conjunction with the steel strap connection plates, as tested for this project, is recommended for implementation.