Australian road safety barrier standards have changed over time as further research has identified deficiencies in existing systems, and as new products have been developed. Many local authorities and state road authorities now find that they have a variety of barrier systems within their jurisdiction and face the problem of deciding on priorities to upgrade older systems to current standards. The aim of this research was to develop a suitable system for prioritising guardrail remediation works. The work was done in conjunction with the Southern District of the Queensland Department of Main Roads and focussed on the shires of Esk, Laidley and Gatton in south-east Queensland. The prioritisation method developed relies on assessment of the relatively easily determined parameters of traffic volume, traffic composition and existing guardrail condition. Whilst the condition of existing guardrail can be determined by field inspection, difficulty exists in determining which deficiencies are the most serious, and a risk management approach is adopted for this aspect of the assessment. The prioritisation system developed was trialled for the three local government areas and has provided feasible and usable rankings. (a) For the covering entry of this conference, please see ITRD abstract no. 0612AR242E.
Abstract