Operational and Maintenance Problems with Highway Safety Appurtenances

This circular contains the proceedings of a workshop sponsored by the TRB Committee on Safety Appurtenances and the AASHTO Highway Subcommittee on Maintenance. It was held at the Hilton Inn, Santa Fe, New Mexico, July 15-16, 1982. Problem areas used as planning guidance at the workshop were generated by a questionnaire to the State Highway and Transportation Departments. pproximately 240 problems were submitted by 74 maintenance personnel in 24 states. By an iterative process of discussions and rankings the problems were reduced to the 20 high priority areas indicated in Appendix B of this circular. It can be seen that with few exceptions there was general agreement between the state, industry, federal and research personnel regarding the top five to ten operational and maintenance problems with highway safety features. Topping the list is the problem of protection of maintenance and work zone personnel during maintenance or construction activities. Other major problems include the need to develop cost-effective solutions to safety improvements, the need to remove unnecessary appurtenances and the need to properly repair and maintain safety appurtenances. (Author)