The Guardian 350 Highway Barrier is a relatively lightweight portable barrier system similar to the concrete barriers that you see everyday on the highways in construction zones. These barriers are mainly used to control, redirect, channel, and ultimately stop vehicles and pedestrian traffic where safety and containment are the primary concern.

The Guardian 350 Highway Barrier has been successfully crash tested to comply with the requirements of the National Cooperative Highway Research Program’s (NCHRP) Report 350, Recommended Procedures for the Safety Performance Evaluation of Highway Features, Test Level 2 and Test Level 3. In addition, the Guardian 350 Highway Barriers can be used on the National Highway System (NHS) as a National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 350 test level 3 (TL-3) traffic barrier.

Barrier Construction

The Guardian 350 Highway Barrier is comprised of two major components:

• The polyethylene barrier
• The metal reinforcement system

Additionally, the metal reinforcement system is comprised of two major components:

• Four steel poles
• Four steel sleeves

Barrier Materials

The Guardian 350 Highway Barrier is made from linear low-density polyethylene. This plastic is approximately 3/8” thick and makes up the shell of the barrier. An ultraviolet light inhibitor has been added to the polyethylene which helps to protect the barrier from the sunlight. If the polyethylene barrier can be compared to bottles of water from the grocery store, it would not be a wise marketing strategy to state that the bottles of water contain an ultraviolet light inhibitor. If they were to do so, then the bottles would not degrade as easily in the sunlight and ultimately, the landfills would fill up with water bottles alone. However, adding an ultraviolet light inhibitor to the polyethylene to the Guardian 350 Highway Barriers is a good practice. If the barrier were to degrade while sitting on the highway protecting construction workers, it would start to leak out the water layer and ultimately loose it’s integrity.

The Guardian 350 Highway Barrier comes standard in Safety Orange, but other color options are available upon request.

Powder coated schedule 40 steel pipe is used as the metal reinforcement poles for the barrier.

Barrier Weight

The Guardian 350 Highway Barrier weighs 280 pounds when it is empty of water. This includes the weight of the factory installed metal reinforcement poles as well as the polyethylene barrier. Once filled with water, the barrier weighs approximately 1750 pounds and provides for 47,000 pounds of vehicle stopping protection.

Crash Tests

The Guardian 350 Highway Barrier has been successfully crash tested to comply with the requirements of the National Cooperative Highway Research Program’s (NCHRP) Report 350, Recommended Procedures for the Safety Performance Evaluation of Highway Features, Test Level 2 and Test Level 3.

Since the Guardian 350 Highway Barrier is portable by nature, it’s primary function is for use in construction work zones where vehicle speeds are to be less than 100 km/h (62 mph) or less

NCHRP 350 Test Level 2 and 3 Data

The Texas Transportation Institute performed two level 2 tests on the Guardian 350 Highway Barriers in November 1994:

• A 1988 Chevrolet 2500 Pickup was crashed into a section of Guardian 350 Highway Barriers which were interlaced together. The truck impacted the barriers at 71.5 km/h (44.4 mph) and an angle of 25.8 degrees. It exited the section of barrier at 44.8 km/h (27.8 mph) and an angle of 11.1 degrees.
• A 1989 Ford Festiva was crashed into a section of the Guardian 350 Highway Barriers which were interlaced together. The car impacted the barriers at 70.6 km/h (43.8 mph) and an angle of 20.3 degrees. It exited the section of barrier at 59.0 km/h (36.7 mph) and an angle of 7.2 degrees.

In both 1994 tests, the barrier passed level 2 criteria.

In addition, the Texas Transportation Institute performed two level 3 tests on the Guardian 350 Highway Barriers in November 1995.

• A 1990 Chevrolet 2500 Pickup was crashed into a section of Guardian 350 Highway Barriers which were interlaced together. The truck impacted the barriers at 100.5 km/h (62.4 mph) and an angle of 25.7 degrees. The car did not exit the section of barrier, but came to a complete stop while still maintaining contact with the barrier.
• A 1989 Ford Festiva was crashed into a section of the Guardian 350 Highway Barriers which were interlaced together. The car impacted the barriers at 101.8 km/h (63.3 mph) and an angle of 20.5 degrees. It exited the section of barrier at 64.9 km/h (40.3 mph) and an angle of 9.9 degrees.

In both instances, the barrier passed on level 3 criteria.

Federal Highway Administration’s Acceptance

In July 2002, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration published a letter to the Armorcast Products Company stating that the modified design of the Guardian 350 Highway Barrier can be considered equivalent to the original Guardian Highway Barrier. Therefore, the Guardian 350 Highway Barriers can be used on the National Highway System (NHS) as National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 350 test level 3 (TL-3) traffic barriers.