Bikeway & pedestrian barrier

What it is

The WS-MH-700 bikeway and pedestrian barrier is a modular steel barrier for the edges of shared paths, cycleways, pedestrian bridges, boardwalks, underpasses and elevated ramps. It keeps people on bicycles and on foot from falling over a drop, steepening batter or retaining wall, and guides them along the path without snagging a pedal or handlebar. Posts are bolted to the deck, edge beam or footing, and factory-made rail and infill panels are bolted between them, so the barrier goes up quickly, in short possessions and without hot work over live traffic or waterways.

The system shares its fabrication logic with the WS modular guardrail and the mesh infill panels, but the geometry is set by transport and bridge rules rather than industrial access codes. It is often supplied with the steelwork of a pedestrian bridge and detailed in the same model.

This is a pedestrian and cyclist barrier. It is not a road safety barrier and has no vehicle crash rating; where errant vehicles must be contained, a tested road safety barrier system is required, and World Steel fabricates such items only to the tested design supplied by the system owner (see bollards and barriers).

Types and options

Configurations are built from a small set of posts, rails and infill panels; the choice depends on the fall height, who uses the path and what the road or bridge authority drawing shows.

Options include a timber or composite capping rail, a kerb or toe rail at deck level, splice joints at bridge expansion joints, and removable or hinged bays for inspection access. Infill can be cut from expanded metal or perforated panels where an architectural finish is wanted.

Design and compliance

Barrier height comes from the path designer and the road authority's standard drawings. In Australia, Austroads guidance for paths for walking and cycling is the usual reference, and heights of about 1.2–1.4 m are common where cyclists could be thrown over the barrier; lower pedestrian heights apply elsewhere. A rub rail at handlebar height keeps bars and pedals off the infill, and openings are limited to the size the authority sets – often stricter on bridges and near schools.

Loads depend on where the barrier stands. On paths and in buildings, barrier loads come from AS/NZS 1170.1, EN 1991-1-1 or ASCE 7; on bridges, AS 5100, EN 1991-2 or the AASHTO LRFD bridge specifications govern, with any crowd or maintenance loads the owner adds. Post spacing, post section and the anchor design are checked for the project or follow the engineer's design. Fixings into concrete are designed to AS 5216, EN 1992-4 or ACI 318 Chapter 17 – see design loads and foundation interfaces.

Fabrication and finishing at World Steel

Posts, base plates, rails, brackets and infill frames are cut, drilled and welded in the World Steel plant in Vietnam using qualified procedures under ISO 3834-2 and the AS/NZS 5131 and EN 1090-2 systems our certifications cover. Welded mesh and expanded mesh stock comes from specialist mills; World Steel cuts it, frames it and welds or bolts it into panels on jigs so that every bay repeats.

Components are hot-dip galvanised as single pieces by qualified galvanisers to AS/NZS 4680, ASTM A123 or EN ISO 1461, which suits coastal paths and bridges. A duplex powder coat or paint topcoat in the authority's colour can follow. Panels are marked by chainage or bay number and packed for export shipping.

Installation and specifying

• Survey the edge, set out post centres and drill or cast in the anchors; post-installed anchors need a design to the local concrete code.
• Stand and plumb the posts, then bolt in the rail and infill panels and fit the rub rail brackets.
• Provide slotted or sliding joints at structural expansion joints and at changes of grade.
• Specify height, infill type, opening limits, rub rail position, design loads, mounting detail, finish and colour, and the authority drawings that apply.