Zoneguard® Case Study: Zoneguard® Shows Its Versatility With Minnesota DOT

After a bridge in Zumbrota, Minnesota was struck by a high load in October 2019, a short-term solution was needed to move traffic away from the south fascia beam. Because the bridge was already scheduled to be replaced in the near future, a limited restriction temporary fix was needed until the bridge construction project was completed. The Minnesota DOT Traffic Department proposed Zoneguard® to control traffic and loading on the bridge due to having positive experience with the product previously.

Though prior to installation, Zoneguard® was needed at a different location in January 2020, this time in Rochester, Minnesota over the Zumbro River. A vehicle accident caused damage to a concrete median barrier between north and south bound lanes on US Truck Highway 52. With 25-feet of median broken away, a gap appeared in the curve between the two directions. With 500-feet purchased in total, Zoneguard® was installed in two sections for this project: 100-feet on the inside radius of the curve and 50-feet on the outside radius of the curve, leaving 350-feet for the bridge damage in Zumbrota. Both sections were installed within a couple hours and in the middle of a snow squall.

In March 2020, the remaining 350-feet of Zoneguard® was installed along with a TL3 crash barrier for the bridge damage in Zumbrota, all within an 8-hour workday. After completion, all Zoneguard® will be put in storage to be used in the future.

Zoneguard® is one of the most extensively crash tested temporary barriers on the market today, having undergone testing to both NCHRP-350 (National Cooperative Highway Research Program Report 350) and MASH (Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware) standards. The rigid cross-section and low center of gravity results in industry-leading crash performance and a proven level of life-saving protection.