We were honoured to be awarded the design consultancy and installation work for this $19 million intersection upgrade funded by the Federal and South Australian governments. One of the more exciting projects to date, as it allowed us to showcase our patented Energy Absorbing Crash Cushion (EACC).
On average more than 63,100 vehicles travel through the intersection each day and there have been 91 crashes at the intersection in the past five years, including 28 casualty crashes. The upgrade will improve the safety of the intersection and will reduce congestion for motorists. IAS was again subcontracted by DPTI to design and install four EACCs at strategic locations around the intersection.
Energy Absorbing Crash Cushion (EACC)
The EACC is a type of roadside barrier designed to attenuate and capture an errant vehicle in a frontal impact. They are usually deployed at vulnerable sites where:
Redirection of an errant vehicle results in additional risks to the road users
There are severe space constraints
Main risk is frontal impact due to approach trajectory
High speed environments where there is a likelihood of injury to vehicle occupants
Where tailored design is required for site layout
They consist of interconnected slotted steel tubes which are designed to provide controlled crumpling and energy absorption by an errant vehicle. This means they are readily repairable and are suitable for quick installation.
Grand Junction Road and Hampstead Road are key to freight movement and are often subject to heavy traffic. The key in improving congestion was to widen the roads approaching the intersection. In particular this required the demolition of several buildings, relocation of Stobie poles, road signs, phone boxes and underground services. However, the larger Stobie poles could not be removed and some had to be left standing dangerously close to the road. This is a major safety concern as any vehicle impact with the poles can cause power outages, deadly traffic hazards and also kill the driver of the errant vehicle.
This is where EACCs are the ideal solution, as they are perfectly adapted for constrained conditions. Each of the Stobie Poles on Grand Junction Rd has a unique orientation to the road and configuration of underground services and required a different design of the EACC.
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The versatility and robustness of the EACC is extended with IAS's precast concrete footings and years of experience in road works. We have found that water jet drilling with a vac truck usually delivers most efficient solutions while the precast concrete footings always save significant time.
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The EACC is patented and available exclusively from us or our exclusive worldwide distributors, Roadside Services and Solutions.
