Milwaukee adds SAFER barrier
Encompassing the outer wall of The Milwaukee Mile’s south turn are steel wall panels in place awaiting the bonded polystyrene foam that sits behind them during the install of the SAFER Barrier System.
Picture: Milwaukee Mile
The Milwaukee Mile has become the latest oval to adopt the SAFER baarrier, installing it at each of its four turns.
SAFER, an acronym for Steel And Foam Energy Reduction Barrier System, is constructed of a hollow steel impact plate, buffered with polystyrene foam blocks. It is designed to dissipate the energy in a crash and minimise the risk that a crashed car will rebound back out into traffic.
The safety upgrade will cost arounf $1 million with a projected completion date of April 1, 2006, in time for track testing and the speedway’s diverse 2006 racing schedule.
The SAFER Barrier System Design has evolved since it was implemented initially at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The process in analyzing the physics behind racing’s devastating high-speed accidents involved researchers from the Midwest Roadside Safety Group at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, working with the IRL, NASCAR and manufacturing engineers at Elrod Corporation.
"The installation of the SAFER Barrier System is the next step to provide a safer racing environment at the world’s oldest operating speedway,” commented Milwaukee Mile Holdings LLC chairman Craig Stoehr.
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