In-Service Performance Evaluation of KDOT’s Cable Median Barrier
REPORT NUMBER
TRP-03-436-20
AUTHORS
Cody Stolle, Ronald Faller, Karla Lechtenberg (Polivka), Bob Bielenberg
PUBLICATION DATE
2020-09-04
ABSTRACT
Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) installed approximately 7.9 total miles of cable median barrier (CMB) along K-10, K-96, and US-75 highways in 2011 and 2012. In January 2020, KDOT funded a study to evaluate Kansas CMB performance by analyzing cross-median crashes (CMCs) and cross-median events (CMEs). All crashes which occurred on these roadways within the longitudinal length of the CMBs were reviewed and crashes which involved a CMB were noted. Researchers analyzed the number of injuries, barrier damage (when available), vehicle damage, and crash outcome in each of the cable median barrier crashes. Researchers identified two CMB penetrations with CMEs, one which resulted in a CMC. Overall, eight penetrations (3.1%) and one rollover (0.4%) result were identified. Although the KDOT dataset was small, rates of penetration and rollover were lower than other state DOT averages. The average CMB crash rate in Kansas was 26.99 crashes per hundred-million vehicle-miles traveled. Approximately 31% of CMB crashes in Kansas were associated with adverse weather conditions (rain, fog, snow, sleet, icy conditions), although the injury rate was significantly higher for non-adverse weather crashes. CMB crash rates were significantly higher between December and February, accounting for 36% of all annual CMB crashes. Overall, the performance of the CMB in Kansas was determined to perform acceptably and comparably to other states.
KEYWORDS
In-Service Performance Evaluation, Cable Median Barrier, Crash Report, Cross-Median Crash, Run-off-Road Crash, Roadside Safety