Median Barrier
A fifty year maintenance free life is attainable by using this increasingly popular installation. Design characteristics of concrete median barrier are totally motivated by driver safety and the aversion of cross over to the oncoming lanes. Incorporating a wide base, which graduates before reaching the wall’s shoulders, the step design is specifically designed to take the impact of wheel and suspension systems before the well protected passenger cage strikes the barrier face. In the event of a collision, a car will be guided along the smooth face of the barrier in the direction of traffic flow, greatly reducing the danger of being hit by vehicles following at high speed.
Specification of the NRA in-situ concrete median barrier centers on a 900 mm high structure while a further 90 mm of its base is beneath the finished road surface. Width at the base is 570 mm which is central to its ability to withstand impacts coupled with the design of the stepped base section and shoulder design.
Further aids to structural stability are the incorporation of two strands of reinforcement steel located at 150 mm and 300 mm spacings from the apex of the wall. Precise placement of the steel within the finished wall is an area that we can guarantee. A crucially important assurance to the long term strength of the structure as well as ensuring its ability to provide the desired levels of containment, this modification while simplistic has resulted in ease of compliance in this vital area.
Concrete median or safety barriers are being used in Ireland with increasing frequency. They are superior to high maintenance metal guardrails or expanses of grassy median. Slipform median barriers prevent out-of-control vehicles from entering on coming traffic lanes and minimize the damage to vehicle and its passengers from the collision. The Safety Shape is the secret behind the sucess of the contrete barrer. This configuration is designed to lift the impacting vechicle wheels, reducing the overturning moment and returning the vehicle to the roadway surface. The use of Slipform barriers has increased worldwide and with the efficiency of the slipforming equipment the quality has improved significantly.