Top Factors That Can Affect The Lifespan Of Road Safety Rails

Road safety rails are an integral part of any transport network in most parts of the world. The rails are usually put in place to ensure that the risk of accidents is reduced. Making sure that the rails last long and do not end up becoming damaged is therefore not only cost effective, but can also save lives. When you are involved in the design of this type of infrastructure, making sure that you do as much as you can to limit such wear is crucial.
Fortunately, there is a lot you can do to achieve this. Some of the factors that will affect the lifespan of the road safety rails you need to keep in mind include:

The environment you live in

Environmental factors will always be extremely instrumental in determining how long safety rails will last. When you are interested in installing them, you first need to identify the type of environment they will be in and then using materials and techniques that are suited to this environment. For instance, if you live in the coast, you can expect that there will be a lot of humidity in the air. You would need to use metals and fasteners that are resistant to water damage as well as to chemical corrosion. For instance, you would be much better off using Inconel hex nuts rather than ones made out of iron.

The type of traffic you will be dealing with

It’s important to assess the type of traffic the rails will be exposed to so that you can then make better decisions regarding which ones to get. For instance, when getting rails on a road that is commonly used by large trucks, it would be wise to use heavy duty fasteners such as nitronic 60 socket head cap screws. It would also be wise to increase the amount of reinforcement in the installation. However, if you are going to install rails on a road that will be exclusively used by pedestrians, you can afford to use materials that are not heavy duty.

Legal regulations

In many parts of the world, there are regulations governing how public infrastructure such as safety rails on public roads should be installed. It’s important to follow such regulations, since they usually also offer standards guidelines that have to be followed. This is important in maintaining the safety of the people who will be using such roads, and will also reduce the risk of lawsuits due to the use of non-standard techniques.
These are just some of the things that will affect the lifespan of road safety rails. Making sure that you optimize them when you are installing such rails will have many benefits for you, including increasing the chances of getting very good value for money from them.
Of course, there are times when you may not be sure about how to optimize each of the above. In such cases, it would be wise to consult the relevant professionals. For instance, you should consult your fastener vendor for advice on how to pick the best fasteners for a specific type of safety rail.