Development and MASH TL-4 Evaluation of TxDOT Rubber Mounted Single Slope Barrier

Median barriers are used as a separation between two opposing traffic lanes on divided highways. Typically, rigid median barriers are made of reinforced concrete using safety or single slope profiles. These barriers are positively constructed as an integral part of the roadway through starter bars or other construction means. A damaged rigid median barrier typically requires lane closures, which results in congestion in addition to costs associated with the repair of the damaged section. Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) researchers designed a new generation of median barriers for Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) through computer simulation and state of the art optimization technologies to maximize the performance of the barrier in terms of safety, while incorporating low-maintenance cost features in the design. TTI researchers reviewed traditional and non-traditional construction material and technologies for use in this new design. Full-scale crash testing was conducted according to the latest version of American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH) standards to validate the crashworthiness of the system. The TxDOT Rubber Mounted Single Slope Barrier performed acceptably for MASH TL-4.