Material Requirements for High-Tension Cable Barriers: A Guide (2025)
Chapter: Front Matter
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| NCHRP Research Report 1156 |
National Cooperative Highway Research Program |
Material Requirements for High-Tension
Cable Barriers
A GUIDE
TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD 2025 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE*
OFFICERS
CHAIR: Leslie S. Richards, Professor of Practice, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
VICE CHAIR: Joel M. Jundt, Secretary of Transportation, South Dakota Department of Transportation, Pierre
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Victoria Sheehan, Transportation Research Board, Washington, DC
MEMBERS
James F. Albaugh, President and CEO, The Boeing Company (retired), Scottsdale, AZ
Carlos M. Braceras, Executive Director, Utah Department of Transportation, Salt Lake City
Douglas C. Ceva, Vice President, Customer Lead Solutions, Prologis, Inc., Jupiter, FL
Nancy Daubenberger, Commissioner of Transportation, Minnesota Department of Transportation, St. Paul
Marie Therese Dominguez, Commissioner, New York State Department of Transportation, Albany
Garrett Eucalitto, Commissioner, Connecticut Department of Transportation, Newington
Andrew Fremier, Executive Director, Metropolitan Transportation Commission, San Francisco, CA
Martha Grabowski, Professor Emerita, Information Systems, Le Moyne College, Madden College of Business & Economics, Cazenovia, NY
Randell Iwasaki, President and CEO, Iwasaki Consulting Services, Walnut Creek, CA
Carol A. Lewis, Professor, Transportation Studies, Texas Southern University, Houston
Scott C. Marler, Director, Iowa Department of Transportation, Ames
Ricardo Martinez, Adjunct Professor of Emergency Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Decatur, GA
Russell McMurry, Commissioner, Georgia Department of Transportation, Atlanta
Craig E. Philip, Research Professor and Director, VECTOR, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
Steward T.A. Pickett, Distinguished Senior Scientist, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook, NY
Susan A. Shaheen, Professor and Co-Director, Transportation Sustainability Research Center, University of California, Berkeley
Marc Williams, Executive Director, Texas Department of Transportation, Austin
EX OFFICIO MEMBERS
Bryan Bedford, Administrator, Federal Aviation Administration, Washington, DC
Michael R. Berube, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Sustainable Transportation, U.S. Department of Energy, Washington, DC
Tariq Bokhari, Acting Administrator, Federal Transit Administration, Washington, DC
Steven G. Bradbury, Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of Transportation, Washington, DC
Steven Cliff, Executive Officer, California Air Resources Board, Sacramento
Drew Feeley, Acting Administrator, Federal Railroad Administration, Washington, DC
LeRoy Gishi, Chief, Division of Transportation, Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior, Germantown, MD
Firas Ibrahim, Director, Office of Research, Development, and Technology, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology (OST-R), Washington, DC
Jason Kelly, Deputy Commanding General for Civil Works and Emergency Operations, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Washington, DC
Sandra Knight, President, WaterWonks, LLC, Washington, DC
Ben Kochman, Acting Administrator, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, Washington, DC
Niloo Parvinashtiani, Engineer, Mobility Consultant Solutions, Iteris Inc., Fairfax, VA, and Chair, TRB Young Members Coordinating Council
Gloria Shepherd, Acting Deputy Administrator, Federal Highway Administration, Washington, DC
Karl Simon, Director, Transportation and Climate Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC
Paul P. Skoutelas, President and CEO, American Public Transportation Association, Washington, DC
Jim Tymon, Executive Director, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, Washington, DC
Sang Yi, Acting Administrator, U.S. Maritime Administration, Washington, DC
__________________
* Membership as of August 2025.
NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM
NCHRP RESEARCH REPORT 1156
Material Requirements for High-Tension Cable Barriers
A GUIDE
Chuck A. Plaxico
Ethan M. Ray
ROADSAFE, LLC
Canton, ME
Subscriber Categories
Design • Maintenance and Preservation • Materials
Research sponsored by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration
NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM
Systematic, well-designed, and implementable research is the most effective way to solve many problems facing state department of transportation (DOT) administrators and engineers. Often, highway problems are of local or regional interest and can best be studied by state DOTs individually or in cooperation with their state universities and others. However, the accelerating growth of highway transportation results in increasingly complex problems of wide interest to highway authorities. These problems are best studied through a coordinated program of cooperative research.
Recognizing this need, the leadership of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) in 1962 initiated an objective national highway research program using modern scientific techniques—the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP). NCHRP is supported on a continuing basis by funds from participating member states of AASHTO and receives the full cooperation and support of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), United States Department of Transportation.
The Transportation Research Board (TRB) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine was requested by AASHTO to administer the research program because of TRB’s recognized objectivity and understanding of modern research practices. TRB is uniquely suited for this purpose for many reasons: TRB maintains an extensive committee structure from which authorities on any highway transportation subject may be drawn; TRB possesses avenues of communications and cooperation with federal, state, and local governmental agencies, universities, and industry; TRB’s relationship to the National Academies is an insurance of objectivity; and TRB maintains a full-time staff of specialists in highway transportation matters to bring the findings of research directly to those in a position to use them.
The program is developed on the basis of research needs identified by chief administrators and other staff of the highway and transportation departments, by committees of AASHTO, and by the FHWA. Topics of the highest merit are selected by the AASHTO Special Committee on Research and Innovation (R&I), and each year R&I’s recommendations are proposed to the AASHTO Board of Directors, the FHWA, and the National Academies. Research projects to address these topics are defined by NCHRP, and qualified research agencies are selected from submitted proposals. Administration and oversight of research contracts are the responsibilities of NCHRP.
The needs for highway research are many, and NCHRP can make significant contributions to solving highway transportation problems of mutual concern to many responsible groups. The program, however, is intended to complement, rather than to substitute for or duplicate, other highway research programs.
NCHRP RESEARCH REPORT 1156
Project 22-40
ISSN 2572-3766 (Print)
ISSN 2572-3774 (Online)
ISBN 978-0-309-99428-6
Library of Congress Control Number 2025943026
Digital Object Identifier: 10.17226/29173
© 2025 by the National Academy of Sciences. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and the graphical logo are trademarks of the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
COPYRIGHT INFORMATION
Authors herein are responsible for the originality and accuracy of their materials and for obtaining written permissions from publishers or persons who own the copyright to any previously published or copyrighted material used herein.
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) grants permission to reproduce written material in this publication for classroom and non-commercial purposes subject to the rights of any third parties and appropriate attribution. Permission is given with the understanding that none of the material will be used to imply NAS, TRB, AASHTO, APTA, FAA, FHWA, FTA, GHSA, or NHTSA endorsement of a particular product, method, or practice. For other uses of the written material, users must request permission from the National Academies Press.
NOTICE
The research report was reviewed by the technical panel and accepted for publication according to procedures established and overseen by the Transportation Research Board and approved by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
This material is based upon work supported by the FHWA under Agreement No. 693JJ32350025. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed or implied in this document are those of the researchers who performed the research and are not necessarily those of the Transportation Research Board; the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; the FHWA; or the program sponsors.
The Transportation Research Board does not develop, issue, or publish standards or specifications. The Transportation Research Board manages applied research projects which provide the scientific foundation that may be used by Transportation Research Board sponsors, industry associations, or other organizations as the basis for revised practices, procedures, or specifications.
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Learn more about the Transportation Research Board at www.TRB.org.
COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAMS
CRP STAFF FOR NCHRP RESEARCH REPORT 1156
Monique R. Evans, Director, Cooperative Research Programs
Waseem Dekelbab, Deputy Director, Cooperative Research Programs, and Manager, National Cooperative Highway Research Program
Christopher T. McKenney, Senior Program Officer
Sheila A. Moore, Program Associate
Natalie Barnes, Director of Publications
Heather DiAngelis, Associate Director of Publications
NCHRP PROJECT 22-40 PANEL
Field of Design—Area of Vehicle Barrier Systems
Erik O. Emerson, Wisconsin Department of Transportation, Madison, WI (Chair)
Amitabha Bandyopadhyay, SUNY Farmingdale, Farmingdale, NY
Richard Clausius, ArcelorMittal R&D, East Chicago, IN
John E. Grieco, STV, Inc., Boston, MA
Christopher Hahin, Illinois Department of Transportation, Springfield, IL
Stephanie Huang, Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, Phoenix, AZ
Jose S. Lima, Rhode Island Department of Transportation, Providence, RI
Gregory Allen Neece, Valtir, Addison, TX
Phil Shawk, Gregory Industries, Canton, OH
Kevin Skero, Nucor Steel Marion, Inc., Charleston, SC
Eduardo Arispe, FHWA Liaison
FOREWORD
By Christopher T. McKenney
Staff Officer
Transportation Research Board
NCHRP Research Report 1156: Material Requirements for High-Tension Cable Barriers: A Guide presents a guide on material requirements for highway guardrail systems and their components to provide consistency with current roadside safety hardware requirements. The development of this guide was based on an analytical program to identify knowledge gaps within the current state of practice. This guide will be of immediate interest to state department of transportation (DOT) design and material engineers to include or reference in standard specifications, special provisions, and contract documents.
Recent years have seen an increased focus on the performance of roadside hardware. As the use of high-tension cable barrier (HTCB) systems increased across the United States, the transportation industry determined a research need to summarize the state of practice for HTCB systems. NCHRP Synthesis 493: Practices for High-Tension Cable Barriers initiated this research by engaging state DOTs to identify and report on the current state of practice for HTCB systems. Information collected included state DOT specifications, special provisions, design standards, and installation and maintenance concerns. Additionally, information was obtained from HTCB systems manufacturers since HTCB systems eligible for use on United States public roads are proprietary. The conclusions from NCHRP Synthesis 493 summarized practices for any agency considering creating or modifying its own specification or special provision for HTCB. However, research was needed to develop draft specifications for the materials used in HTCB systems.
Under NCHRP Project 22-40, “Investigation of Material Requirements for Highway Guardrail Specifications,” Roadsafe, LLC was asked to conduct the project objective in two phases. The research findings from Phase I led to the publication of NCHRP Research Report 1020: Investigation of Material Requirements for Highway Guardrail Systems. In Phase II, Roadsafe, LLC was asked to develop a guide with a proposed Recommended HTCB Acceptance Plan that catalogs standard materials and components used in HTCB systems. The development of this guide was based on the work plan that included: (1) a comprehensive review of AASHTO M 30-15 and its associated AASHTO and ASTM standards; (2) a state-of-practice survey and interviews to identify state DOTs using HTCB systems in medians or roadsides; (3) revisions to the Cable Barrier Acceptance Plan to facilitate efficient implementation methods for field inspection, manufacturer certification, independent lab certification, and sampling and testing by the owner; and (4) proposed draft language for consideration by AASHTO to incorporate in the next update of AASHTO M 30-15.
In addition to the guide published as NCHRP Research Report 1156, two deliverables are available on the National Academies Press website (nap.nationalacademies.org) by searching
for NCHRP Research Report 1156: Material Requirements for High-Tension Cable Barriers: A Guide:
- Dissemination and Implementation Plan for Applying Research Findings and Products into Practice: Recommended HTCB Acceptance Plan
- Summary of Research and Findings: A Project Overview Presentation
CONTENTS
2.2 Low-Tension Cable Barrier System Materials and Material Properties
2.3 State DOT Specifications – Materials and Material Properties
2.5 Installation, Maintenance, and Performance of HTCB
2.6 Literature Review Conclusions
Chapter 3 Summary of the Survey of States
3.2 State Specifications and Special Provisions
3.4 At- and Below-Grade Structures
3.6 Maintenance, Repair, and Damage Modes
Chapter 4 Summary of Manufacturer Interviews
4.1 Challenges for the Manufacturers
4.6 Manufacture and Testing of Components
Chapter 5 Topics for Specification/Acceptance Plan
6.4 Conclusions on Document Type
