The publications "A Guide to Standardized Highway Barrier Rail Hardware" and "A Guide to Small Sign Support Hardware," were prepared by the AASHTO-AGC-ARTBA Joint Cooperative Committee. They have been used widely by highway agencies to develop standard designs and plans. These documents are in need of revision because of the many changes that have occurred since their publication. For instance, the recently published AASHTO Roadside Design Guide includes new crashworthy barrier systems that have resulted from recent research. New and expanded guides will be beneficial to highway agencies, designers, and suppliers of barrier and small sign support hardware. The AASHTO-AGC-ARTBA Joint Cooperative Committee's Task Force 13 has requested, and AASHTO has authorized, the NCHRP to develop recommendations for a new and expanded guide.

The objective of this project was to prepare, in printed and CAD formats, materials for recommended replacements of the publications entitled A Guide to Standardized Highway Barrier Rail Hardware and A Guide to Small Sign Support Hardware. To meet this objective the following tasks were achieved: (1) Reviewed relevant research and testing information, particularly on work that has been done since 1979 on roadside barriers, median barriers, temporary barriers, bridge railings, transitions, terminals, and crash cushions that might be included in an up-to-date hardware guide. (2) Requested all states furnish their standard traffic barrier details to identify those items that should be considered for inclusion in the hardware guide. Requested related hardware details from suppliers and manufacturers. (3) Established with panel approval formats and nomenclature for CAD drawings and layouts for printed materials shall be provided. Also, recommended methods for organizing the CAD files, maintaining the guide, and disseminating future updates. (4) Prepared draft materials for the guide including detailed drawings for each hardware item, material specifications, references relating to crashworthiness, and descriptions of intended use. (5) Evaluated reviewers' comments and prepared written responses and revised drafts of the guide through multiple review cycles. (6) Prepared the final versions of the guide and made Intergraph-compatible CAD files available. (7) Repeated above steps to prepare a similar update for small sign supports. (8) Prepared a final report that describes the efforts of this project and summarizes the products derived.

Status: Research is complete.

Report Availability: The updated barrier hardware guide and the small sign support guide have been published by AASHTO. The CAD and word processor files associated with these guides are available through McTrans and PCTrans.