MEDIAN BARRIERS: ONE YEAR'S EXPERIENCE AND FURTHER CONTROLLED FULL-SCALE TESTS

ONE YEAR OF OPERATION IS COVERED INCLUDING ADDITIONAL FULL-SCALE COLLISION TESTS OF CABLE-CHAIN LINK BARRIERS. THE BEFORE-AND-AFTER OPERATIONAL STUDIES INDICATE THAT: (1) THE BARRIERS WERE SUCCESSFUL BUT NEED SOME IMPROVEMENT, (2) THE TOTAL ACCIDENTS INCREASED WHEN THE BARRIERS WERE INSTALLED, BUT THE HEAD-ON FATALITIES WERE VIRTUALLY ELIMINATED, AND (3) THE MAINTENANCE COST OF THE CABLE-CHAIN LINK BARRIER WAS MORE THAN THE METAL BEAM BARRIER, BUT THIS WAS OFFSET BY THE HIGHER FIRST COST OF THE METAL BEAM BARRIER. CONTROLLED COLLISION TESTS RESULTED IN AN IMPROVED DESIGN OF THE CABLE- CHAIN LINK BARRIER. /AUTHOR/