Citation

Calcote LR. Transp. Res. Rec. 1979; 736: 48-51.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1979, Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences USA, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This paper presents a strategy that can provide guidance in the selection and placement of warranted highway guardrails. By using the results of the COCOST computer program, cost-effectiveness tabulations can be prepared to determine (a) optimal placement distance and guardrail type and (b) the ranking of a selected standard guardrail type against the 10 other types included in the program. As in any cost-effectiveness program, certain limitations exist because of the complexities of the problem, the meager data available, and the assumptions that must be made to fill the gaps. Thus, the COCOST program is intended only as a guide and not as a substitute for engineering judgment. The program does, however, provide a basis for selecting and placing guardrail that has not been available before. In the examples shown here, representative average values have been used for guardrail installation, repair, and maintenance costs. The interested reader is encouraged to obtain the program and documentation and to use his or her own local costs in arriving at quantities for analysis purposes.