Background
TAC’s Guide to Bridge Traffic and Combination Barriers (2010) is widely used by the bridge engineering community in Canada and is referenced in the Commentary on CSA S6:19, Canadian Highway Bridge Design Code (Section 12). Since its original publication there have been significant advancements in this area of bridge engineering, and practices have evolved. In alignment with TAC’s objective of maintaining the currency of its publications, the Guide requires updating as a new edition.
Objectives
This project will update and enhance the 2010 Guide to Bridge Traffic and Combination Barriers to reflect recent advancements and current practices. It is a national document and must be relevant and applicable to a cross-section of Canadian regulatory authorities, bridge owners, and design experts.
The guide will incorporate, but would not be limited to, developments from:
- CSA-S6, Canadian Highway Bridge Design Code (2019 and 2025 editions)
- CSA-S7:23, Pedestrian, Cycling, and Multiuse Bridge Design Guideline
- Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware, Second Edition (AASHTO, 2016)
- Other published reports from the National Cooperative Highway Research Program and Department of Transportation in the United States
- Research on barrier loads, analysis, design, rehabilitation or repair since 2010
The project will include the following tasks:
- A literature review of international practices, design guides and academic publications
- A nation-wide survey of current practices
- A review of the 2010 guide for accuracy and inconsistencies
- Investigation of design considerations for climate resilience (e.g. increased ice accretion), and recommendation of responses for inclusion
- Recommendation of new or amended guidance on preferred methods and procedures related to bridge barriers including mixed-use scenarios, design, construction, inspection, evaluation, repair and rehabilitation
- Development of a final guide
