Wyoming Road Closure Gate

Abstract

Road closure gates are used to close certain highways when driving conditions become too hazardous under severe winter weather conditions. The Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) developed a new road closure gate design that had not been crash tested to determine whether it would meet nationally recognized safety standards. WYDOT sponsored a study at the Texas Transportation Institute to crash test and evaluate the new road closure gate design and, as appropriate, to improve the design from the standpoints of safety performance, cost, and practicality. The original road closure gate design was crash tested and failed to meet the guidelines set forth in NCHRP Report 350 and the 1985 AASHTO Standard Specifications for Structural Supports for Highway Signs, Luminaires, and Traffic Signals. The design was then modified and crash tested with successful results. The modified road closure gate design consists of a standard 8.84-m (29-ft)-high luminaire support pole structure with a mast arm and light standard, a four-bolt slip base breakaway base, a telescoping fiberglass-aluminum gate arm with an electric in-line linear actuator lift mechanism, and a gate arm bracket to restrict the lateral movement of the gate arm when it is in the up position. The road closure gate design has been adopted by WYDOT and accepted by FHWA for use on the National Highway System.