Roadside Hardware

Strategy 18.1 B2—Median Barriers for Narrow Medians on Multilane Roads

General Description

This strategy involves providing barriers on multilane roads with narrow or no medians. Barriers can be rigid (e.g., concrete median barrier, guardrail) or semi-rigid (e.g., cable barrier). The treatment would be designed to prevent head-on collisions from occurring. The treatment is also used on high-speed, two-lane roads during construction (e.g., during freeway reconstruction, both directions of traffic are often shifted to one roadway, with temporary barriers provided between the opposing traffic).

The strategy is primarily applicable in the rural or outlying suburban environment where speeds are higher and the need for median openings for intersections and driveways are less than in urban areas. Arterials, expressways, and full freeways are candidates for treatment.

The strategy would apply to roadways that may have experienced significant traffic growth and increased serious crashes since original construction. In many cases, original design assumptions on speed and traffic demands resulted in decisions to forego median barriers.

Finally, this design may be incompatible with other strategies designed to minimize ROR crashes. A continuous median barrier is itself a potential hazard. As many as 30 percent of high-speed barrier impacts produce injuries and fatalities.

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