Environmentally Friendly and Durable Concrete Barrier (A73)

A safe and durable concrete barrier has been built on the A73 in the southern part of The Netherlands (Province of Limburg). The decision to install this barrier was based on consumer-focused networking. The benefits of concrete barriers were illustrated during the networking process, including the prevention of break-through and crossover accidents. Another advantage is the reduction of the pollution in the (grass) verge caused by heavy metals when a steel barrier is used. The 5% angle of the barrier also reduces injury to motorcyclists, especially in comparison with steel barrier systems with protruding bolts and support posts. The 'step' of this barrier has been designed to reduce the impact of the vehicle wheel and will guide the vehicle back on to the road without losing speed, so that the car will flow back into the traffic. The concrete step barrier meets the European requirements (EN 1317) in respect of passenger protection in the event of a car impact. The initial investment in a concrete barrier is in The Netherlands higher than a steel barrier, but when the life cycle costs are taken into account, the costs will be earned back more quickly. A minimum lifetime of 50 years will be easily achieved. The speed of execution of up to 600 m/day is an acceptable daily production rate. The paper describes the choice of concrete or steel, advantages and disadvantages, the design and the execution.