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The Safety and Cost-Effectiveness of Bridge-Approach Guardrail For County State-Aid (CSAH) Bridges in Minnesota

Status:  Complete
Report Date:  10/04/2005

Summary:

Bridge-approach guardrail provides protection for vehicles from collision with bridge components, such as the blunt end of the bridge rail or abutment, and other types of run-off-the-road collisions. The primary objective of this research was to determine the average daily traffic (ADT) at which the benefit/cost ratio for the installation of approach guardrail at county-state-aid (CSAH) bridges in Minnesota becomes greater than 1.0. A survey of state transportation agencies found that 26 of 35 responding agencies have policies or guidelines requiring placement of approach guardrail on any bridge if the bridge was built using state funds. Results of the research analyses showed that bridge-approach guardrail was effective at reducing the severity of run-off-the-road crashes occurring on the approach or departure to CSAH bridges. Fatalities and A-injury crashes accounted for only 6 percent of the crashes occurring at bridges with approach guardrail compared to 28.5 percent at bridges without approach guardrail. The subsequent benefit/cost analysis showed that bridge-approach guardrail is cost-effective (i.e., B/C > 1) for CSAH bridges with ADT greater than or equal to 300 vehicles per day (vpd). Overall, approach guardrail has a benefit/cost ratio of approximately 3.5 to 5.5. The researchers recommended that the ADT threshold for approach guardrail on CSAH bridges be set at 400 vpd, which is consistent with previous Mn/DOT standards and AASHTO low-volume local road guidelines. Approach guardrail should be considered on a case-by-case basis for bridges with ADT between 150 and 400 vpd, especially those between 300 and 400 vpd. Placement of approach guardrail at bridges with ADT less than 150 vpd is not cost-effective in most cases.

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