12.5' Curved Guardrail Panel (Custom Radius)
Product Overview:
Equip your highway curves, roundabouts, and intersections with precision-rolled 12.5-foot curved W-Beam and Thrie-Beam guardrail panels. Manufactured from high-strength galvanized US made steel, these panels provide the exact fit required for tight radii where standard straight beams cannot be safely bent in the field. Available in both convex and concave configurations, every panel delivered by US Barricades® is built to meet strict AASHTO and DOT specifications, ensuring maximum protection and structural integrity for your road system.
Key Features & Specifications
Standard Dimensions: 12.5 ft (nominal length) for seamless splicing and integration with existing highway systems, 10ga and 12ga.
Custom Radius: Precision shop-curved to your exact project requirements (required for any radius under 150 feet).
Directional Fit: Specify Convex (traffic faces the outside of the curve) or Concave (traffic faces the inside of the curve) to match your blueprint.
Heavy-Duty Construction: High-tensile, hot-dipped galvanized steel resists rust, corrosion, and severe weather conditions.
Regulatory Compliance: Manufactured to meet FHWA and AASHTO M-180 specifications for highway safety.
Mounting: Pre-punched holes align with standard guardrail posts and blockouts for standard installation.
How to Order Your Curved Guardrail:
Consider adding this specific section as a dropdown or a highlighted box on the product page. Curved guardrails often result in ordering errors, so clear instructions reduce customer service calls.
1. Determine Your Radius Field-bending straight panels is dangerous and voids DOT compliance. Any curve with a radius of less than 150 feet must be shop-curved. Please provide your exact radius measurement when requesting a quote.
2. Choose Convex or Concave
Frequently Asked Questions:
When is a shop-curved guardrail required instead of field-bending? According to DOT guidelines, any guardrail installation with a radius of less than 150 feet must be shop-curved before delivery. Attempting to bend a straight W-beam panel in the field to a tight radius can warp the steel, damage the galvanized coating, and severely compromise the barrier's crash-rating integrity.
How do I know if my project requires a convex or concave panel? It depends entirely on where the traffic lane is positioned relative to the curve:
Convex: The traffic lane is on the outside of the curve (the guardrail bows outward toward the vehicles).
Concave: The traffic lane is on the inside of the curve (the guardrail bows inward away from the vehicles). If you are unsure, you can submit your project blueprints to the US Barricades sales team for verification.
Are these curved panels AASHTO and DOT compliant? Yes. All of our shop-curved W-beam panels are manufactured from high-tensile, hot-dipped galvanized steel to meet standard FHWA and AASHTO M-180 specifications. They provide the same structural integrity and crash-test ratings as our straight W-beam panels.
Do curved W-beams require special mounting hardware or posts? No. Our curved panels feature standard pre-punched holes that align perfectly with standard guardrail posts, blockouts, and splice bolts. However, depending on how tight your radius is, your project specifications may require the posts to be spaced closer together than the standard 6 feet 3 inches.
How do I measure and specify the radius for my order? If you do not have the exact radius specified on a blueprint, you can calculate it by measuring a straight line across the curve (the chord length) and measuring the distance from the center of that line to the deepest part of the curve (the middle ordinate). Provide these two measurements to our team, and we will calculate the exact radius needed for your panels.
