Highway Care | BG800 at Bournemouth Wheels Festival 2016

The high speed three day event that contributes to Bournemouth’s motoring heritage takes place between May and June. The Bournemouth Wheels Festival is heading for its third consecutive year in 2016 and provides a spectacular attraction with a range of events spanning the weekend. A popular spectator area is on the Demonstration Straight, stretching along the length of the East Overclff and providing festival-goers a chance to line the course to watch bikes, karts, historic F1, Le Mans, Touring, Rally and Supercars in action.

Making debut Wheels appearances this year will be a daredevil motorcycle stunt team, international championship beach racing and an Italian Job-style car chase with a British seaside twist.

With just a few weeks to go until the UK’s biggest wheels-themed family festival roars into life, Highway Care is preparing to dispatch the 1.4Km of BG800 to once more protect the Demonstration Straight.

Now in its third year, the largely free event has attracted 800,000 visitors since it began, all requiring protection from the vehicles in action. Further consideration is also taken for the well-being of all stunt and race drivers displaying their skills.

Back in 2014, Bournemouth Borough Council set out to fi­nd a barrier that would protect the hundreds of thousand visitors to their town, while limiting further disruption to traffic during the build-up and deconstruction of their annual motor festival. The Barrier must be installed quickly, limit disruption, ensure the containment of an errant vehicle and not damage the road surface.

Logistics had proved an issue in the infancy of the event in 2014, the selection of a heavier barrier required in excess of 30 delivery trucks for installation and then again for removal. Bournemouth Borough Council selected Highway Care’s BG800 portable steel barrier for the second event. Upon its successful deployment, increased safety for both drivers and spectators; BG800 will continue to be used for Bournemouth’s third event in June 2016.

 “Highway Care was pleased to supply Bournemouth Wheels Festival with a barrier that matched their requirements. The barrier was a success and it is great to see BG800 will once again feature on the Demonstration Straight for 2016.” Said Mike Hale, Business Development Manager at Highway Care. “BG800 is a low de­flecting, high containment barrier that is perfectly suited to a quick deployment with limited disruption. The event was a success and we were able to dismantle the barrier promptly after the event.”

 “I was impressed both with the barriers themselves and probably even more so, the efficiency of their removal. I went out in the morning of the removal expecting to see them being taken away only to find they had been removed with no apparent disruption at all. The bolt holes in the highway had all been filled with bitumen as agreed and there was next to no evidence they had ever been there”

Martin Dover, Highway Network Manager, Bournemouth Borough Council.

THE SOLUTION

Highway Care was selected in 2015 to install approximately 1.4km of BG800. With its low deflection and quick installation, BG800 is considerably lighter in comparison to other temporary barrier solutions, weighing just 90kg per metre.

Approximately 7 trucks of BG800 were required instead of a potential 30+ trucks necessary to deliver heavier alternatives selected for the fi­rst year of the festival.

BG800 portable steel barrier system from Highway Care is perfect for temporary locations, it is listed in the Highways England “Accepted EN1317 Compliant Road Restraint Systems” and has been approved to EN1317 Part 2 at N2 and H2. BG800 is the lowest deflecting temporary steel barrier per frequency of anchors (Less than 1m deflection at test level N2).

BG800 is installed and removed by Sector Scheme 2b qualifi­ed crews only and is available with approved crash cushion end terminals.

FEATURES

High Containment – will contain a 7500 Kg truck at 45˚ travelling 50 km/h or a 13000 Kg bus at 20˚ travelling 70 km/h.

Versatile – design allows for angle plates and angle sections to be used for tight radii.

Easily Replaced – Impact damaged barrier sections are quickly and easily replaced.

Easily Accessed – Emergency access gate system available.

Light Weight – BG800 only weighs 90kg/metre. The unique design of the ‘QuickMount’ connector provides a substantial resistance to lateral impact forces, allowing a high strength / low weight construction.

ABOUT BOURNEMOUTH WHEELS FESTIVAL

Bournemouth Wheels Festival returns for a third year, 3 – 5 June 2016, with new attractions including a daredevil motorcycle stunt team, a brand new show from TV stunt star, Paul Swift, and championship quad bike racing on the beach.

See non-stop, high speed action along the Demo Straight, monster metal crushing madness, gravity defying quad bike jumps, breath-taking BMX and skateboard tricks, as well as a 33-metre big wheel in Bournemouth’s town centre!

The Bournemouth Wheels Festival organisers also organise the award winning Bournemouth Air Festival – one of the ‘Top Ten Airshows in the World’ (USA Today 2012)

ABOUT HIGHWAY CARE LTD

Highway Care Ltd is a key supplier of specialist road safety products and services for use on high speed trunk roads and lower speed municipal roads, offering high quality products and professional service. Through our relationship with strategic partners and a clear understanding for the requirements of the road safety market, Highway Care is committed to developing and introducing a range of innovative products designed to increase safety and reduce costs.

For more information on BG800, or other Highway Care safety solutions please visit www.highwaycare.co.uk, or call 01622 734215