Design

If driving becomes extremely hazardous due to severe winter weather, WYDOT closes affected State highways. For years, Wyoming and other states used swing gates positioned at the outskirts of most cities to close these highways to traffic. The swing gates, however, were difficult for field personnel to close under the conditions that required their use--high winds and blowing snow. Closing gates was more difficult when cables used to anchor the gates in the closed position occasionally became tangled during high winds. Moreover, to close swing gates, employees must walk onto the roadway and place themselves at high risk, especially when roads are icy and visibility is poor. Finally, swing gates required a lot of maintenance and were not regarded as crashworthy if hit by a vehicle.  Wanting to improve their method of closing winter roads, WYDOT put together a committee composed of members of the Highway Patrol and personnel representing the areas of highway design, construction, and maintenance. Highway Patrol advised it would be extremely difficult to enforce highway closures without using physical barriers. The committee, therefore, explored alternate gate designs.  With consideration for safety and cost, the committee developed a design that used a railroad arm installed on a light pole with a breakaway base. This design would keep highway personnel off the road. In addition, because the new gate used parts already stockpiled in highway maintenance yards, production could begin quickly and with minimum expense.

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