Latest Safety Improvements Funded by Non-Tax Supported Bond

Overseeing the installation of SAFER Barrier System at The Milwaukee Mile are Wisconsin State Fair Park engineer Jeff Jacobson (left) and the speedway's chief operating officer Gary Girard. (Russ Lake/Milwaukee Mile Photo)

The Milwaukee Mile has taken another step in the direction of recent safety and facility improvements, with the installation of the SAFER Barrier System, an energy-dissipating system that has been fastened to the speedway's existing concrete wall. SAFER, an acronym for Steel And Foam Energy Reduction Barrier System, is constructed of a hollow steel impact plate, buffered with polystyrene foam blocks.

The latest version of the SAFER Barrier is being placed this week, which allows the most recent technology in energy-absorbing materials to be placed in the turns of America's Legendary Oval to minimize the forces of impact in the case of a wall contact accident during a Champ Car, NASCAR, IRL IndyCar Series or ARCA RE/MAX Series competition, in addition to providing additional safety for the many other factions of Motorsports that compete at The Mile.

One of the 124 SAFER Barrier System wall panels is set in place at The Milwaukee Mile on Wednesday, March 22.  The $1 million project is expected to be completed by April 1st. (Russ Lake/Milwaukee Mile Photo)

The Milwaukee Mile is located on the Wisconsin State Fair grounds and is owned by the State of Wisconsin.  The Mile was granted approval by the Wisconsin State Building Commission to provide $1.2 million in non-tax supported bonding for multiple improvements, with $1 million tabbed for SAFER Barrier System installation.  The funds were approved by the state of Wisconsin in 2005, prior to the mid-December approval of Milwaukee Mile Holdings LLC as the race promoter rights holder for the next 18 years.

With the signature of approval by Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle in place, SAFER Barrier System work had begun in earnest on this $1 million improvement project just last week, with a projected completion date of April 1, 2006, in time for track testing and the speedway's diverse 2006 racing schedule.

"With the new grandstands in place for the 2003 season, the spectators and participants at The Milwaukee Mile have seen vast improvements in the interest of safety and comfort.  The installation of the SAFER Barrier System is the next step to provide a safer racing environment at the world's oldest operating speedway," said Milwaukee Mile Holdings LLC chairman Craig Stoehr.

Encompassing the outer wall of The Milwaukee Mile's south turn are steel wall panels in place awaiting the bonded polystyrene foam that sets behind them during the install of the SAFER Barrier System at The Milwaukee Mile on Wednesday, March 22. (Russ Lake/Milwaukee Mile Photo)

The installation is being done by Elrod Corporation, based in Mooresville, Indiana.  Elrod is the only licensed and approved manufacturer and installer of the SAFER Barrier System.  By contract, Elrod personnel will be on-hand for at least the first weekend of competition at The Milwaukee Mile, the Time Warner Cable Road Runner 225 Champ Car World Series race weekend June 2-4.

"We are pleased to be involved with America's Legendary Oval, and the installation of the SAFER Barrier System.  Elrod Corporation is committed to the highest safety standards, and are installing the most current materials and technology available, to ensure the storied racing tradition at The Milwaukee Mile continues in the safest manner possible," said Elrod Corporation senior project manager Jason Turk.

Overseeing the track operations of this project are Gary Girard, chief operating officer of The Milwaukee Mile and Jeff Jacobson, engineer for Wisconsin State Fair Park.

"With virtually every weekend between May and September booked with track activities - from karting to club racing to our four major race weekends - the installation of the SAFER Barrier System provides a safer environment for all of our participants racing on our oval track," said Girard.

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.

Upon impact, the SAFER Barrier System:

• Dissipates impact energy before it fully reaches the vehicle's occupant
• Decreases peak forces applied to the vehicle by spreading the impact event over an extended distance along the wall-=thus affording the occupant restraint systems more time to function optimally
• Minimizes the risk that the vehicle will be propelled back out into high-speed traffic

SAFER Barrier System at The Milwaukee Mile By The Numbers:

• $1 million - The estimated cost of materials and installation of SAFER Barrier System at The Milwaukee Mile
• 3,472 linear feet - The total length of hollow steel impact plate being installed in Turns 1-2 and Turns 3-4
• 28 feet - The length of each barrier section
• 14 feet - The distance between cables and straps anchored to the concrete wall and the steel tubing
• 17A, 19A, 23A - These part numbers differentiate the radius of the wall panels.  The varying radiuses reflect a better fit to the curvature of existing track walls and the transition to/from the straightaways.
• 5 feet - The spacing between bundles of 2-inch thick extruded polystyrene sheets stacked in a pyramid configuration for optimum collapsing effect.
• 5 x 8 = 40 - There are five 8-inch x 8'inch hollow steel box tubes stacked and welded in each 40-inch high panel
• 124 - Pieces of 28-foot wall panel tube sections that splice together to comprise the barrier
• 3070 - Number of ASTM A325 galvanized bolts used in the wall splices that interlock the wall panels
• 110 - Gallons of Sherwin Williams Metal Latex B-42 Semi Gloss paint expected to be used to paint the SAFER Barrier System
• 75-percent - On-board collision data recorders in vehicles that have crashed with and without the SAFER Barrier System in place have show a 75% reduction in g-force felt in the driver's compartment