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Title:
SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR FIXING THE POSTS OF A BARRIER IN THE GROUND
Document Type and Number:
WIPO Patent Application WO/2019/097553
Kind Code:
A1
Abstract:
The present invention relates to the installation of roadside safety barriers (also referred to as "guardrail" in the following). Said barriers are a very important element of any road, and they have a crucial function for the safety. In fact, in addition to delimiting the roadside edges visibly, they significantly reduce the danger of accidents involving vehicles' out of road. This last safety function requires that the installed guardrail need to receive a certification in to guarantee appropriate mechanical requisites. However, the actual installation conditions depend on the different types of ground and, in many cases, the safety standards are not satisfied due to the installation. The subsystem for fixing the guardrails at the base, according to the invention, allows to fix the posts of said guardrails on the ground in such a way which allows to obtain an homogeneous installation tightness in different types (or different conformations) of the ground itself, and it is able to ensure compliance with the certification conditions. Moreover, such fixing subsystem at the base of the guardrails allows to fix the posts of said guardrails on the ground, with speed of installation and sustainable costs. These objects are achieved by means of a subsystem for ground fixing of posts of roadside barriers (i.e. the upright elements of a guardrail) comprising a casing made of corrosion resistant material (aluminum, inox, steel zinc coated, composite materials, polymeric, plastic, etc.), suitable to be grounded. And said casing, when is buried (i.e. installed in the ground), maintains an opening in its upper face, so as it is also suitable to house the basement of a post of a road-side barrier, which is inserted inside said casing through said opening which is shaped for the scope.

Inventors:
NIEDERKOFLER HANNES (IT)
Application Number:
PCT/IT2017/000255
Publication Date:
May 23, 2019
Filing Date:
November 15, 2017
Export Citation:
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Assignee:
STRA TEC SRL (IT)
International Classes:
E01F15/04
Foreign References:
EP1541768A12005-06-15
US1658118A1928-02-07
US4819916A1989-04-11
GB2251881A1992-07-22
CH535331A1973-03-31
DE2924432A11980-04-24
Attorney, Agent or Firm:
BRUNI, Giovanni (IT)
Download PDF:
Claims:
CLAIMS

1. A system (100) for fixing at the base the posts (310) of roadside barriers on the ground,

· and said system (100) comprises a casing (110) suitable to be

buried,

• and said casing (110) comprises an opening (120) in its upper face, so as, when said casing (110) is buried, it is also suitable to house the basement of a post (310) of a roadside barrier, said basement being inserted inside said casing (110) through said opening (120)

2. A system (100) for fixing at the base the vertical posts (310) of roadside barriers on the ground, according to claim 1 , wherein said casing (110) is made of composite material.

3. A system (100) for fixing at the base the posts (310) of roadside barriers on the ground, according to claim 1 , wherein said casing (110) is made of a metallic alloy resistant to oxidation.

4. A system (100) for fixing at the base the posts (310) of roadside barriers on the ground, according to claim 1 , wherein said casing (110) is configured to be firmly fixed to the ground by means of an additional consolidating subsystem.

5. A system (100) for fixing at the base the posts (310) of roadside barriers on the ground, according to claim 4, wherein said additional consolidating subsystem comprises at least one ground anchor (111)

6. A system (100) for fixing at the base the posts (310) of roadside barriers on the ground, according to claim 4, wherein said additional consolidating subsystem comprises at least one vertical rod (112) planted in the ground more deeply than said casing (110) 7. A system (100) for fixing at the base the posts (310) of roadside barriers on the ground, according to claim 4, wherein said additional consolidating subsystem comprises at least one tie rod (113) planted slantwise in the ground.

8. A system (100) for fixing at the base the posts (310) of roadside barriers on the ground, according to claim 1 , in which said opening in the upper face of said casing (110) has a shape which fits with the profile, in the horizontal section, of said post (310)

9. A system (100) for fixing at the base the posts (310) of roadside barriers on the ground, according to claim 1 or claim 2, in which said opening in said casing 110 is obtained using extrusion or pultrusion techniques.

10. A system (100) for fixing at the base the posts (310) of roadside barriers on the ground, according to claim 1 , in which said posts (310) are kept firmly in place, inside said casings (110), by eliminating the mechanical gaps (132) with at least one wedge element (130), which is in turn fixed to the casing (110).

11. A method for fixing to the ground the posts of roadside barriers, which uses the system (100) for fixing at the base the posts (310) of roadside barriers on the ground, according to any of the preceding claims, which comprises the following steps:

a) a plurality of casings (110) are buried along the edge of the road where a safety roadside barrier has to be installed, and the upper face of said casings (110) remains accessible at the level of the ground;

b) if necessary, the position of said casings (110) is stabilized, by

means of suitable fixing elements depending on the typology of the ground, in order to keep said casings (110) in place even if strong stresses are present;

c) each post (310) is inserted in each of these casings (110): the

insertion of said posts (310) takes place from the top, since the casings (110) have an opening (120) in their upper face that fits with the shape of the profile of said posts (310);

d) each post (310), inserted in a casing (110), is firmly fastened to the corresponding casing (110), and the mechanical gaps are compensated, in order to clamp the post (310) in the correct position in the correct position;

e) once the posts (310) are fixed to the ground, the other parts of the roadside safety barriers are mounted.

12. A method for replacing the posts (310) of roadside barriers installed

according to the method as in claim 11 , which comprises the following steps: f) removing the elements (130) that keep the post (310) clamped in the correct position;

g) slipping the post 310 away from the casing (110) where it is inserted; h) inserting, in each of these casings (110) remained empty, a new post (310);

i) firmly fastening of the inserted post (310) to the casing (110), in order to clamp the post (310) in the correct position, compensating the mechanical gaps.

Description:
SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR FIXING THE POSTS OF A BARRIER IN THE GROUND

DESCRIPTION

The field of application of the present invention relates to the installation of roadside safety barriers (also referred to as“guardrail” in the following).

Said barriers are a very important element of any road, and they have a crucial function for the safety. In fact, in addition to delimiting the roadside edges visibly, they significantly reduce the danger of accidents involving vehicles’ out of road. This last safety function requires that the installed guardrail meet appropriate mechanical requisites.

In particular, the guardrail have to prevent that a vehicle exit from the road in order to avoid dangerous collisions with external elements or fall and, at the same time, it must dissipate, as much as possible, the kinetic energy of the vehicle, which should stop its run, possibly, nearby the edge of the road.

The combination of these requisites of mechanical resistance and plastic deformability (for dissipating the kinetic energy) poses a significant technical problem in the realization and in the installation of such roadside safety barriers.

The common practice, based on the known art, does not face adequately these aspects concerning the safety and it is quite frequent that, in the case of several accidents, the institutions who have in charge the operation of the roads are responsible of the consequences of these accidents.

In fact, it is quite frequent that the guardrail which is installed along the roads does not meet the technical requisites for the safety, and the consequences of eventual accidents may result to be more serious, just for this reason.

Actually, the known art is satisfactory with regard to the materials and the elements with which the guardrails are built. In fact, the technology for the realization of the guardrails is mature, reliable and optimized respect the costs: but the technical problem about the installation is still open and not yet solved.

In order to be installed, a guardrail need to obtain a certification by means of “crash tests” that would guarantee the necessary safety parameters. Nevertheless, the installation conditions during the“crash test” hardly reproduce actual installation conditions.

In conclusion, a number of installed guardrails fail to meet the required safety parameters, due to installation defects.

In the following, some typical cases, where installation fails to meet the safety standards, will be described more in detail. What is important to underline, here at the beginning, is that the installation of a guardrail significantly depends on the physical features and on the status of the roadside, and said factors significantly influence the mechanical behavior and the performances of the roadside safety barrier.

Guardrails according to known art could be theoretically installed in order to obtain homogeneous performances, even in the presence of different embankments (road ears), but it would require economically unenforceable costs (for example, building a concrete curb all along the road). Consequently, the real situation shows a large number of installations where the safety standards are not respected. Moreover, installation problems are not limited to the phase in which a new barrier is placed. In fact, the safety roadside barriers need some maintenance during their lifecycle and, obviously, in occasion of accidents (the guardrails are designed to be irreversibly deformed, to dissipate the kinetic energy of the vehicles that impact them).

In case of accident, one or more posts (i.e. the uprights elements) of the guardrails usually need to be substituted, and this operation normally poses some difficulties since the roadside barrier must be a single connected body in order to achieve the correct mechanical parameters.

Also in this cases, that generally concern the guardrails’ maintenance, the known technology doesn’t offer a satisfactory solution.

In summary, it can be stated that, although the technology to build guardrails is mature and allows to provide guardrails with both adequate safety standards and sustainable costs, the technical problems associated with the installation on real roads significantly compromises the achievable result.

In particular, significant technical problems arise to obtain the performances observed (and certified) during the“crash tests” when the guardrail is installed over different types of“ground and concrete curbs” (also referred to as“ground” in the following). In fact, the tightness of the guardrail depends, of course, on the strength of its constraints at the base.

Therefore, the main object of the present invention is to indicate a fixing subsystem at the base of the guardrails, which allows to fix the posts of said guardrails on the ground in such a way which allows to obtain an homogeneous installation tightness in different types (or different conformations) of the ground itself, and able to ensure compliance with the certification conditions.

Another object of the present invention is to indicate a fixing subsystem at the base of the guardrails, which allows to fix the posts of said guardrails on the ground, which guarantees speed of installation and sustainable costs. It means that the elements of the subsystem must be usable with good generality, in order to achieve (with appropriate performance and with respect of all the safety standards) economies of scale able to cut down costs.

Again, another object of the present invention is to indicate a fixing subsystem at the base of the guardrails, which allows to fix the posts of said guardrails on the ground and also allows an easy replacement of the posts themselves for maintenance reasons.

Again, another object of the present invention is to indicate a fixing subsystem at the base of the guardrails, which allows to fix the posts of said guardrails on the ground and also allows to change the height of the guardrails related to the road surface, for example after refurbishment of the road pavement.

Finally, another object of the present invention is to indicate a fixing subsystem at the base of the guardrails, which allows to fix the posts of said guardrails on the ground, which may be used to fix the most common types of guardrails typically used for making the roadside safety barriers on the roads. This last requisite is advisable since it allows to use the available technology which, as said, is mature, economically optimized, and able to guarantee (in certain conditions of installation) the required safety standards. The foregoing objectives for this invention are achieved by means of a subsystem for ground fixing of posts of roadside barriers (i.e. the upright elements of a guardrail) comprising a casing made of corrosion resistant material

(aluminum, inox, steel zinc coated, composite materials, polymeric, plastic, etc.), suitable to be grounded. And said casing, when is buried (i.e. installed in the ground), maintains an opening in its upper face, so as it is also suitable to house the basement of a post of a road-side barrier, which is inserted inside said casing through said opening.

The main advantage of the present invention is that a system for ground fixing of vertical posts of roadside barriers according to the teachings of the present invention meets the main purposes for which it was conceived.

This invention has also further advantages, which will be made more apparent from the following description, from some practical exemplifications disclosing further details, from the attached claims, which form an integral part of the description itself, and from the accompanying drawings in which:

Figures 1a and 1b show the main elements of a roadside safety barrier (guardrail);

' Figure 2 shows a guardrail according to the prior art, fixed as in a“crash test”;

v" Figure 3 shows a guardrail according to the prior art, fixed in a weak

roadside embankment;

Figure 4 shows a guardrail according to the prior art, fixed in roadside rocky ground;

' Figure 5 shows a guardrail according to the invention;

·/ Figure 6 shows a guardrail according to the invention fixed in roadside rocky ground;

Figures 7a and 7b show a guardrail according to the invention fixed in a weak roadside embankment;

Figure 8 shows a top view of a road in which the openings in upper face of the casings installed in the ground, according to the invention, are visible; s Figure 9 shows an example of some elements which can be used to fix the vertical posts to the casings according to the invention.

Figure 1a shows a typical roadside safety barrier (also referred to as a guardrail). Said barrier is seen from the inside of the road and, in general, is composed by few elements listed below:

• elements substantially vertical, normally referred to as posts, which

sustain the barrier itself, and indicated with the number 310

• the horizontal block out bar, indicated with the number 330;

· an eventual upper beam, indicated with the number 340, and

• the fixing system indicated with the number 100.

The fixing system 100 is the object of the present invention, and it is shown as a black box, since it will be better analyzed in the following of the description.

The number 200 indicates the ground where the guardrail have to be fixed.

Figure 1b represents the same guardrail shown in Figure 1a, but it is shown in a section orthogonal to the direction of the road.

The numbers indicate the same elements as in Figure 1a. Figure 1 b allows to see also a spacer between the post 310 and the horizontal block out bar 330. Said spacer is indicated with the number 320, has the main function of keep connected the horizontal block out bar 330 with the posts 310, and it plays a significant role in determining the performances of the guardrail as a whole.

Another feature, which can be appreciated from the view of Figure 1b, is the profile of the horizontal block out bar 330. This profile is the result of a long time evolution and is able to guarantee an optimal compromise between mechanical

performances and costs.

It has been stated that the mechanical performances of the roadside safety barriers, according to the known art, are satisfactory when the barriers can operate in nominal conditions. Nominal conditions are those, which are tested during the “crash tests” of the barriers themselves. Figure 2 shows a guardrail on the same section of Figure 1b, and it refers to these nominal conditions.

In Figure 2, the fixing system between the post 310 and the ground 200 is very simple: the post 310 is simply planted in the ground, and the ground provides an excellent seal. It is the case when a post is planted in a concrete curb (or plate); this is a possible case also in the reality, but the reality offers many other cases too.

In Figure 2, as well as in the following figures up to Figures 7, the numbers maintain the same meanings as in the preceding figures; this figure shows what happens during a“crash test”.

With the number 400 it is indicated the force generated by a strong collision, which is realistically reproduced during the“crash test”. Said force 400 get the post 310 deformed, and the typical deformation is that represented in Figure 2 by means of the dashed line, which shows the typical shape of the post 310 after the collision. Since the basement of the post 310 is firmly planted in the ground, the most of the deformation take place in the zone indicated with the number 101 , which is positioned just above the ground.

This kind of deformation (together with the whole deformations of the other elements of the guardrail) provides the right effect to absorb the kinetic energy of the impact and the vehicle stops.

Unfortunately, the behavior of the guardrail, in many real cases of installation, does not reproduce the behavior of the guardrail which is

experimented during the“crash test”.

Moreover, even in the cases of installation similar to the nominal conditions of test, the fixing system which consists in the simple planting of the posts 310 provides significant drawbacks. In fact, after any accident, the guardrail has to be repaired and, normally, some posts 310 have to be replaced. Said substitution is generally a long, difficult (i.e. expensive) operation.

Figure 3 shows a first real case of installation according to the prior art. It is the case in which the post 310 is planted in a roadside where the embankment is weak and cannot provide a firm fixing. It is the frequent case in which, for example, the embankment along the roadside is quite narrow.

Figure 3 highlights that, in such conditions of installation, the force 400, generated by a collision, normally produce a rotation of the post 310 which is not firmly fixed to the ground. Therefore, it doesn’t get deformed, or it get deformed just a little, and consequently it does not dissipate the necessary quantity of kinetic energy. In order to prevent such undesired behavior in case of impact, it would be necessary to use very long posts, or to make a reinforcement of the roadside; but both these measures are too expensive and few standardized, therefore they are not adopted in the real cases. The post 310 presents a similar behavior (a rotation instead of a elasto- plastic deformation just above the ground level) also in the case shown in Figure 4. It is the case in which the ground has a rocky layer near the surface. In Figure 4, the number 201 indicates a layer of the ground where the post 310 can be planted, while the number 202 indicates a harder layer of the ground (typically a rocky layer) where the post 310 cannot be planted (or it is difficult and expensive to plant it).

In this case, it is difficult to plant the post 310 sufficiently deeply, and in many real cases the posts are planted too few as shown in the case depicted in Figure 4.

Also in Figure 4, the impact indicated by the arrow 400 generates a behavior of the guardrail which is completely different from the nominal behavior (which is certified by means of“crash tests” that would guarantee the necessary safety parameters).

Figure 5 shows the innovative fixing system according to the invention. Figure 5 is very similar to Figure 2, which is about the nominal behavior of the posts 310 of a guardrail (as happens during the“crash tests”). In fact, as an effect of the force 400, generated by an impact, the post 310 gets deformed in the right zone 101 , just above the ground 200.

In Figure 5, the post 310 is not simply planted in the ground, but it is inserted in a casing, indicated with the number 110. Said casing 110 is buried in the ground 200 and provides an opening, indicated with the number 120, in its upper and facing upwards. Then the bottom end of the post 310 can be inserted inside said casing 110 and fixed to this.

This fixing system seems just to move the problem: now the problem consists in fixing said casing 110, instead of the post 310.

Nevertheless, since the effective fixing to the ground of the casing 110 is simpler than the fixing of the posts 310, the solution according to the invention, as it will result clear from what follows, will result significantly convenient.

In fact, it can be adapted to different types of ground with a limited number of types of fixing elements; this fact allows a certain standardization of the installing procedure, which in turn allows to meet the crucial economic constraints.

Moreover, this solution drastically improves all the maintenance activities, since the substitution of the posts (and of entire pieces of guardrails) becomes quick, easy and substantially independent from the ground where the guardrail is installed.

Figure 6 shows the fixing system 100 according to the invention, in a typical case where the fixing according to the known art poses significant problems; it is the case (also shown in Figure 4) in which the ground has a rocky layer near the surface.

The rocky layer is not a problem as it prevents to plant deeply enough the post 310 but, on the contrary, it can even be exploited to a better fixing of the casing 110. In fact, the bottom of the casing is easily accessible from the top and it can be firmly fixed to the rocky layer (eventually dug a little) by means of ground anchors. Figure 6 provides an example of this kind of installation and shows two ground anchors indicated with number 111 , which keep the casing 110 firmly fixed to the ground.

Then, since the post 310 is fixed inside said casing 110, its behavior in case of collision will result compliant with the safety certification, and the deformation will be of the same type of the one which happens during the“crash tests” in case of nominal collision.

Figures 7a and 7b show another case in which the installation according to the known art, again, poses particular problems. It is the case (also shown in Figure 3) in which the roadside embankment is narrow or, in general, too weak to guarantee a firm fixing of the planted posts 310.

According to the prior art (which foresees just to plant the posts in the ground), the barrier works in a different way than the certified version, because of the different way to bend in the elasto-plastic field.

Figure 7a shows a first solution which can be adopted, according to the present invention, in case of weak embankment. The casing 110 remain the same; in fact, it may be conceived as an universal element usable in any kind of ground. As shown in Figure 7a, the installation of said casing 110 can be consolidated by means of an additional consolidating subsystem, indicated with the number 112. The consolidating subsystem 112 indicated in Figure 7a foresees a long rod (in case of necessity there can be used two or more rods of this type) which can be planted vertically as deeply as it is necessary. Said rod is then connected to the casing 110 by means of suitable fixing brackets. The result is that the casing 110 can be kept sufficiently stable even in case of collision, and the deformation of the post 310, again, may happens as foreseen in the nominal behavior.

A second solution, which can be adopted, according to the present invention, in case of weak embankment is shown in Figure 7b. Also in the case shown in Figure 7b the installation of the casing 110 needs to be consolidated by means of an additional consolidating subsystem. The consolidating subsystem shown in Figure 7b is indicated with the number 113. It is a kind of tie rod, which can be planted slantwise in order to exploit the eventual presence of a more compact ground under the surface of the road (more internally with respect to the embankment). Also this solution allows to use the same casing 110, which can be installed in a weak embankment, but kept sufficiently stable even in case of collision. In synthesis, Figures 6, 7a and 7b demonstrate that the casing 110 is a versatile element that can be installed in any kind of ground, and it can be kept sufficiently stable in order to bear the eventual collisions which a safety roadside barrier is subjected to.

Moreover, the additional elements, which are eventually necessary to keep the adequate steadfastness of installation, are quite limited in number, easy to be installed, relatively cheap and all adaptable to the same casing element 110.

The advantages of the present invention are many: they range from the safety aspects, since the solution makes possible installations able to guarantee the safety standards, up to economic aspects, both in the installation phase and in maintenance phase.

As regards the maintenance, it is important to underline that the casing 110, when is installed is almost completely buried and its physical requisites are different from those of the posts 310. In particular, it is important to prevent the degradation of the material that must be as inert as possible in contact with the soil. The use of corrosion resistant materials is a recommended choice for the realization of the casing 110. Said casing 110 may be done of metals, or metallic alloys, resistant to oxidation: such as aluminum, inox, steel zinc coated etc.; or of synthetic materials such as composite, polymeric, plastic, etc..

The coupling between the posts 310 and the casings 110 can be

accomplished by various techniques, which are all variants of the same invention. A preferred solution able to guarantee said coupling is described with the help of Figures 8 and 9.

As already mentioned, said coupling must guarantee technical performance, ease of installation and it must pay attention to the containment of production costs.

Figure 8 shows a top view of a stretch of road, indicated with the number 210, where there are highlighted, installed along one of the two road edges, three casings. Said three casings are shown by a top view, and just their upper face is visible, which, as already said, is made up by an opening, and is still indicated with the number 120. One said upper faces of said casings, depicted in the bottom part of Figure 8 inside a dashed circle, is expanded in order to appreciate some characterizing details.

The enlarged view puts on evidence two zones. The darker zone, indicated with the number 120, represents the material that fills the most of the space inside the casing 110, and a white silhouette that indicates some slots referred to by the number 121. Said slots 121 are obtained on the filling material 120 in order to accommodate the profile, seen in horizontal section, of the posts 310.

The silhouette shown in the figure is approximate in shape. The scope of the drawing is that of putting on evidence that it is possible to design a silhouette able to accommodate a plurality of profiles: so as to accommodate all the most common profiles of the posts 310.

The coupling mode shown in Figure 8, based on the use of a filling material 120, in which are obtained the slots able to accommodate all the most common profiles of the posts 310, is a very convenient solution.

In fact, such filling element is very easy and cheap to be produced using extrusion and pultrusion techniques; this element may be standardized, it is usable for almost all the cases, and it can be produced in very large quantities.

Obviously, the simple insertion of the posts 310 inside the slots 121 leaves the necessary mechanical gap which must be compensated, in order to finish the job of implementing a stable and firm installation.

Figure 9 shows a very simple technique, which guarantee a very

satisfactory completion of the installation. In Figure 9, the dimensions and the proportions of the various parts of the fixing subsystem 100 are deliberately distorted since the scope is purely that of showing how the posts 310 can be kept firmly in place even in presence of mechanical gaps (whose dimension is unrealistically exaggerated in the figure) after their insertion inside the casing 110. The view of Figure 9 is a vertical section orthogonal to the direction of the road. It depicts a detail of the fixing system 100 according to the invention. The number 110 shows a detail of the casing, while the number 310 shows a part of the bottom of the post of a guardrail.

Figure 9 puts on evidence the presence of a mechanical gap between the post 310 and the casing 110, and said gap is indicated with the number 132. Said gap 132 can be completely filled by a simple wedge element, indicated with the number 130, and said wedge element 130 can be in turn fixed by means of a simple screw accessible from the top, which is indicated with the number 131. The coupling technique described with the help of Figures 8 and 9 is just an example of coupling technique among many possibilities. Nevertheless, it is quite convenient and it allows to define a methodology too for the installation and maintenance of a roadside safety barrier. In fact, the fixing subsystem at the base of the guardrails, according to the teachings of the present invention, has been conceived having in mind a methodology for the easy and quick installation of the safety roadside barriers.

Said methodology comprises at least the following essential steps.

• A plurality of casings 110 are buried along the edge of the road where a safety roadside barrier has to be installed, and the upper face of said casings 110 remains accessible at the level of the ground.

• If necessary, the position of said casings 110 is stabilized, by means of suitable fixing elements depending on the typology of the ground, in order to keep said casings 110 in place even if strong stresses are present. · Each post 310 (i.e. the vertical upright element of the safety roadside

barrier) is inserted in each of these casings 110: the insertion of said posts 310 takes place from the top, and it is extremely simple since the casings 110 have an opening in their upper face that fits with the shape of the profile of said posts 310. • Each post 310, inserted in a casing 110, is firmly fastened to the corresponding casing 110, and the mechanical gaps are compensated, in order to clamp the post 310 in the correct position.

• Once the posts 310 are fixed to the ground, the other parts of the roadside safety barriers are mounted.

These methodological steps highlight a very efficient operating process. In fact, the installation of a long roadside safety barrier can be implemented with a structured activity based or repetitive actions, which are able to guarantee the desired standard of quality independently from the status of the soil.

Moreover, the installation process can be performed with speed (each action can be implemented quickly), and using standard materials which can be produced in series at a low costs. The methodological advantages, made possible by the use of the fixing system 100 according to the invention are not limited to the installation phase: in fact, also the maintenance activities take great advantage from the invention.

The maintenance of a roadside safety barrier poses significant problems in the case in which it is necessary to operate on the posts 310. In fact the fixing system 100 makes it possible to disassemble a post 310 and reassemble a new post (or the same post, but positioned at a different height). And such activity can be performed with great efficiency following the method outlined below, which includes the following steps: • removing the elements 130 that keep the post 310 clamped in the correct position;

• slipping the post 310 away from the casing 110 where it is inserted;

• inserting, in each of these casings 110 remained empty, a new post 310 (or the just removed post 310, after suitable maintenance operations);

• firmly fastening of the inserted Post 310 to the casing 110, in order to clamp the post 310 in the correct position (compensating the mechanical gaps).

It is worth noting that the substitution of the posts 310 according to the prior art is far more toilsome since it substantially requires the demolition of a stretch of the old barrier, and a successive new installation. In addition, said new installation has to be done on a soil that may have further sealing defects caused by the previous installation. In general, both the fixing system 100 for a roadside security barrier and the method thereof, according to the invention, lend themselves to numerous variants of implementation. They may depend not only on technology aspects regarding the individual parts, such as the additional coupling elements and consolidation subsystems, but also on the materials which can be used to build any single part of the system.

Such variants may offer further advantages in addition to those mentioned above, and they may be implemented by the man skilled in the matter without thereby departing from the scope of the invention as it follows from this description and the appended claims herein.

Therefore any variant implementation of a system for fixing at the base (in ground or in concrete) the posts of roadside barriers comprising a casing made of corrosion resistant material, suitable to be grounded, and able to house the basement of a upright of a road-side barrier, has to be considered a different implementation of the same invention without thereby affecting or altering the principles or the inventive nature that inspired it.

Moreover, the invention itself may be implemented in a partial manner, either it may be enriched with additional accessory elements, or the methodology may include further steps that increase its efficiency.

For example, the system 100 can evolve towards greater emphasis of the automatization of the guardrail installation; and the installation/maintenance procedures may become highly automated processes. Thus, the disclosed invention lends itself to incorporating and supporting further evolutionary efforts able to enhance the performance of the described systems and methodology. Such developments, when not covered in this description, may be described in further patent applications associated with the present invention.