guardrail

It's got a funny name, but it's making guardrail repairs easier

It's got a funny name, but it's making guardrail repairs easier

SR24-1

It's got a funny name, but it's making guardrail repairs easier

It's got a funny name, but it's making guardrail repairs easier

Kathy Cline / ADOT Communications
July 13, 2022

Do you know what a guardrail crab is?

Guardrail crab makes repairs easierNo, it's not a delicious restaurant entree. It's an invention from ADOT's Nogales Maintenance Unit that makes repairing guardrails easier and safer.

Guardrails are a vital component of highway safety and replacing or repairing them is a top priority when damage occurs. However, each one is 25 feet long and weighs 185 pounds. Previously, at least four crew members were required to hold the guardrail in place 20-30 inches from the ground for two to seven minutes. Multiply that by miles of highway and that situation's full of potential for arm, leg and back injuries. Plus, there is the safety component of repairing guardrails along roadways.

The Nogales Maintenance Unit felt there must be a better way, and the guardrail crab was what they came up with. Using two guardrail crabs, crew members can line up the guardrail at the site and move it into place. Not only has this reduced the number of crew members needed for guardrail repairs, it has increased safety for employees and reduced time working on busy roads.

 

Guardrail replacement complete along SR 87 near Payson

Guardrail replacement complete along SR 87 near Payson

I-17 101 traffic interchange

Guardrail replacement complete along SR 87 near Payson

Guardrail replacement complete along SR 87 near Payson

October 9, 2020

PHOENIX – The Arizona Department of Transportation has completed the replacement of guardrail along more than 11 miles of SR 87 northbound after it was damaged in the Bush Fire this summer.

With the new guardrail in place, lane restrictions along northbound SR 87 toward Payson have been removed. Crews had been gradually reducing the lane restriction as sections of guardrail were replaced.

ADOT secured federal emergency relief funds to cover the $2 million cost of repaired guardrail and the right-of-way fence.

Although the guardrail replacement along SR 87 is completed, crews will continue to replace damaged guardrail along SR 188 and right-of-way fencing along both highways. 

The guardrail replacement along SR 188 is approximately halfway done. The shoulder of southbound SR 188 is blocked off in the areas of damage until guardrail can be replaced along the two-lane highway. Please drive with care in those areas.

Real-time highway conditions are available on ADOT’s Arizona Traveler Information site at az511.gov, by calling 511 and through ADOT’s Twitter feed, @ArizonaDOT. When a freeway closure or other major traffic event occurs, our free app available at azdot.gov/ADOTAlerts will send critical information directly to app users in affected areas – where possible, in advance of alternate routes.

There's more to guardrail repair than meets the eye

There's more to guardrail repair than meets the eye

SR24-1

There's more to guardrail repair than meets the eye

There's more to guardrail repair than meets the eye

By Laurie Merrill / ADOT Communications
September 30, 2020

Guardrails are silent sentries. 

Most of us drive by them every day without giving them much thought. But they are there for one important reason: To protect motorists. They are intended to keep vehicles on the highway and to absorb the shock of a collision. 

You may have known that. What you probably don’t know is what it takes to install this important piece of highway engineering. 

We certainly do. Currently, Arizona Department of Transportation is replacing and repairing guardrail on northbound State Route 87 south of Payson that was damaged or destroyed in the recent Bush Fire. 

“They are tearing down any of the old guardrails that got burned,” said Casey Bramlet, an ADOT highway operations technician based in Payson. “The whole scope of the project is almost 30,000 feet of guardrail damage.” 

For this, two crews from ADOT-hired contractors are working in tandem to perform a multi-step process, working from north to south. 

First, a five-member crew tears down the metal part of the guardrail along a section of highway. The next day, the crew uses machinery to pull the old wooden posts inside that section. At the end of every day, they haul the debris off-site. 

The three-member crew will drill holes and install the new wooden posts every six feet. They use one piece of equipment to dig the holes and another to pound the posts in. Those machines function simultaneously, Bramlet said. 

The five-person crew then bolt into place the metal part of the guardrail, made of galvanized steel. All together, the teams are able to replace about 2,000 feet of guardrail a week, he said. 

More than just guardrail was damaged during the Bush Fire. A right of way fence was also damaged in the heat and is being replaced between milepost 219 and 235.5. This is a fence with four strands of wire. The bottom strand is smooth to help wildlife pass under it. 

“It lets smaller wild animals go under it and deer and elk to go over it,” Bramlet said. 

Here are some more numbers that tell the guardrail story:

  • At the start of the project on July 20, the right lane of SR 87 was closed for 10 miles. That is down to fewer than 5 miles. 
  • The wooden posts are 5.6 feet tall and all but the top 31 inches are buried. 
  • At the start of the guardrail is a terminal head that is metal and built to act as a cushion. 
  • The steel panels, known as W-beams, come in three sizes: 6 feet, 3 inches; 12 feet, 5 inches; and 25 feet. 

It just goes to show you guardrails may look simple, but installing them is a feat of engineering!