The Bridge Department of the Dutch Ministry of Transport and Public Works has developed a steel crash barrier with a so-called New Jersey profile for the application on reversible lanes on bridges. It is proposed to use this crash barrier also on motorways for temporal, exceptional occasions. The crash barrier is made of steel and not of concrete in order to keep weight to a minimum. The SWOV Institute for Road Safety Research has studied the safety of this construction with the help of simulations using the VEDYAC computer program. This study is a continuation of an earlier simulation study into the steel New Jersey barrier safety. The study discusses the results of four computer simulations. It is concluded that the proposed construction with longitudinal modifications and a fastening to both ends cannot ensure the safety sufficiently. Collisions with lorries cause deformations in such a way that the traffic on the adjacent traffic lanes is endangered. For the abstract of the first study see IRRD 833015 (B 30419).
Abstract