ABSTRACT
The Australian Bridge Design Code AS5100 was revised in April 2017, resulting in substantial changes to the design requirements for bridge traffic barriers. This paper proposes improved analysis approaches to achieve greater barrier capacity and improved barrier constructability, and cautions where some design and detailing approaches may inadvertently lead to unsafe traffic barriers.
This paper postulates the likelihood that Australian road authorities have – since the turn of this century – overspent many-tens-of-million dollars constructing unnecessarily-strong traffic barriers. The author argues the industry should move away from its reliance on engineering calculations for traffic barriers – and towards the physical load-testing of standardized bridge barrier systems. It is suggested that this alternative approach may reduce the demands on the structural configurations of traffic barriers and their supporting elements, and perhaps save road authorities significant monies over the long-term.
