Concrete Highway Barriers Save Lives

As federal and state governments look for ways to improve the safety of drivers everywhere, concrete highway barriers continue to save lives. As guard rails, located on the shoulder of many roads and highways, become more obsolete; steel and wood barriers of the past are being replaced with concrete highway barriers that are easier to repair are more cost effective. One of the most popular concrete barriers today is the Jersey barrier or Jersey wall.

A Jersey barrier is three feet tall and is constructed of poured concrete. Watching its construction, a child's arts and crafts project, complete with modeling clay and kiln comes to mind. But this important technology represents far more than craft projects for kids, these concrete constructs saves lives where other outdated materials of the past have failed.

An except from a report published in 1997 by the Transportation Research Board, National Research Council sheds light on the history and rationale behind this technology: "Although it is not clear exactly when or where the first concrete median barriers were used, concrete median barriers were used in the mid-1940s on US-99 on the descent from the Tehachapi Mountains in the central valley south of Bakersfield, California. This first generation of concrete barriers was developed to (a) minimize the number of out-of-control trucks penetrating the barrier, and (b) eliminate the need for costly and dangerous median barrier maintenance in high-accident locations with narrow medians -- concerns that are as valid today as they were 50 years ago".

The first barrier in Jersey was installed in 1955 and stood at a mere 18 inches tall. Its evolution from this point on is unusual: the New Jersey barrier was never crash tested. The innovations were a result of police officers' post-crash observations. The Jersey barrier was adopted by California in the 1960s, although, in the tradition of separating themselves from the east coast, Californians renamed their own version of the K-rails and used them primarily in the road construction. Even the residents of New Jersey have kept their distance from their state namesake, referring the Jersey barrier as a common traffic divider.

Since the United States' occupation of Iraq, versions of the Jersey barrier have been used to secure roadblocks and reinforce public infrastructure. These barriers are often used in conjunction with the "T" and "L" barriers, which are much taller than the Jersey barrier.