Road Barrier Repair Costs and Influencing Factors

Abstract

This paper presents a study that examines repair costs for different road barrier types and factors that influence these costs. The analyses focused on w-beam and cable barriers used as median barriers. To some extent, pipe barriers, Kohlswa-beam barriers, and concrete barriers were also studied. The influencing factors included in this study were road type, speed limit, barrier type, and seasonal effects. A case study was conducted in four regions of the Swedish Road Administration. Data were collected from 1,625 barrier repairs carried out during 2005 and 2006. The results show that the number of barrier repairs and the average repair cost per vehicle kilometer are higher along collision-free roads than along motorways and 4-lane roads. The results also show that the number of barrier repairs and the average repair cost per vehicle kilometer are higher for cable barrier than for other barrier types. No conclusion can be drawn regarding influence of speed limits on barrier repairs and associated costs as the result from the regions are divergent and not statistically significant.