Guardrail Location Rating System Users Manual

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet's Division of Maintenance is responsible for identifying and prioritizing locations in need of guardrail. A procedure used by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet was originally developed by the Kentucky Transportation Center in 1989 and updated in 2002. Based on frequent usage by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet of the guardrail location rating system database, the need was identified to update the existing database and incorporate improved reporting capabilities. The objectives of the research study, as documented herein, were to update and improve the processes for identification of roadway locations that should be considered for installation of guardrail. Primary new features include the following: 1) Revised crash data reflecting the most recent statistics of run-off-road crashes; 2) Incorporating the Critical Rate Calculator as the mechanism for obtaining crash data; and 3) Photographs and descriptive information representative of the Subjective Hazard Rating required for each location being considered for guardrail installations.