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Dynamic Evaluation of a Pinned Anchoring System for New York State's Temporary Concrete Barriers

REPORT NUMBER

TRP-03-216-09

AUTHORS

Christopher Howard, Cale Stolle, Karla Lechtenberg (Polivka), Ronald Faller, John Reid, Dean Sicking

PUBLICATION DATE

2009-09-08

ABSTRACT

Temporary concrete barrier (TCB) systems are utilized in many circumstances, including for placement adjacent to vertical dropoffs. Free-standing TCB systems are known to have relatively large deflections when impacted, which may be undesirable when dealing with limited space behind the barrier (as seen on a bridge deck) or limited lane width in front of the barrier system. In order to allow TCB systems to be used in space-restricted locations, a variety of TCB stiffening options have been tested, including beam stiffening and pinning the barriers to the pavement. These pavement-pinning procedures have been considered time-consuming and may pose undue risk to work-zone personnel who are anchoring the barrier on the traffic-side face. Thus, a means of reducing TCB deflections while reducing risk to workers was deemed necessary. The primary research objective was to evaluate the potential for pinning alternate barrier sections on the back-side toe of the New York State's New Jersey-shape TCBs and evaluate the barrier system according to the Test Level 3 (TL-3) criteria set forth in MASH. The research study included one 2270P full-scale vehicle crash test with a Dodge Quad Cab pickup truck. Four 15 1/2-in. (394-mm) long, vertical steel pins were placed through holes on the back-side toe of alternating barrier sections and inserted into drilled holes within the rigid concrete surface. Following the successful redirection of the pickup truck, the safety performance of the pinned anchoring system was determined to be acceptable according to the TL-3 evaluation criteria specified in MASH using the 2270P vehicle. However, it should be noted that significant barrier deflections were observed during the crash test and may be greater than those desired for work areas with restricted space.