• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
Logo

Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse

Library of Resources to Improve Roadway Work Zone Safety for All Roadway Users

  • About
  • Join Listserv
  • Contact
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Work Zone Data
    • At a Glance
    • National & State Traffic Data
    • Work Zone Traffic Crash Trends and Statistics
    • Worker Fatalities and Injuries at Road Construction Sites
  • Topics of Interest
    • Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety
    • Smart Work Zones
    • Transportation Management Plans
    • Accommodating Pedestrians
    • Worker Safety and Welfare
    • Project Coordination in Work Zones
  • Training
    • Flagger
    • Online Courses
    • Toolboxes
    • FHWA Safety Grant Products
    • Certification and
      Accreditation
  • Work Zone Devices
  • Laws, Standards & Policies
    • COVID-19 Guidance
  • Public Awareness
  • Events
  • About
  • Listserv
  • Contact
  • Search
Publication

Crash Testing and Evaluation of Work Zone Barricades

Author/Presenter: Bligh, Roger P.; Mak, King K.; Rhodes, Lewis R., Jr.
Abstract:

Proper traffic control and delineation are critical to achieving safety in work zones. However, the work zone traffic control devices themselves may pose a safety hazard to vehicle occupants or work crews when impacted by errant vehicles. Thus, there was a need to research the safety performance of work zone traffic control devices to ensure that they perform satisfactorily and meet National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 350 guidelines. Several research studies sponsored by the Texas Department of Transportation evaluated the impact performance of various work zone traffic control devices, such as temporary and portable sign supports, plastic drums, sign substrates for use with plastic drums, traffic cones, and vertical panels. Specifically addressed are the studies on barricades. Standard wooden barricade construction was found to be unacceptable due to a demonstrated potential for intrusion of fractured members into the occupant compartment. In response to deficiencies identified in the wooden barricade tests, several alternate barricade designs were developed and successfully tested.

Source: Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board
Volume: 1650
Issue: 1
Publisher: Transportation Research Board
Publication Date: January 1, 1998
Source URL: Link to URL
Publication Types: Books, Reports, Papers, and Research Articles
Topics: Barricades; Crash Tests; Temporary Traffic Control; Traffic Control Devices

Copyright © 2023 American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA). The National Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse is a project of the ARTBA Transportation Development Foundation. It is operated in cooperation with the U.S. Federal Highway Administration and Texas A&M Transportation Institute. | Copyright Statement · Privacy Policy · Disclaimer
American Road and Transportation Builders Association Transportation Development Foundation, American Road and Transportation Builders Association U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration Texas A&M Transportation Institute