Those damn, concrete, Jersey barriers!

treeguy64

treeguy64

Hari Om, y'all!
Location
Austin, TX.
Last night, I was struck with an epiphany, of sorts: I can no longer drive Austin highways, after dark.

The bane of my driving experience, and the agent of my aforementioned epiphany, is the concrete Jersey barrier, as pictured below.

For anyone who white knuckles narrow passages on highways where these things, eerily, appear, overnight, you may have feelings similar to me. I can honestly say that I've never seen these things set in place: Open road, one day, narrow, rat maze, the next!

Austin, keeps growing, keeps building. Because of the massive amount of construction constantly going on, here, roads, major roads, interstate roads, are being rerouted, seemingly by a cabal of drunken civil engineers! Lanes appear out of nowhere, lanes terminate into barriers, lane markers disappear, absolutely no exaggeration!

Janet and I attended a wedding, last night. Right off the bat, it was idiotic scheduling, on the part of the couple: For sentimental reasons, it had to be on that Friday, 5 PM, after work, in a location, literally on the far, opposite end of town from me. If Austin traffic is among the worst in the world, and it is, according to surveys, then Austin traffic on a Friday, during evening rush hour, is almost beyond belief horrible.

Getting to the venue was bad enough, but it was still light out. At least, on the highways, with those Jersey barriers, I could see what was coming. When we left, at around 8:30 PM, the night had fallen. We drove from the ranch location in total darkness, save for my headlights. Then we hit the main roads.

Every single road we had to take had massive construction going on. The Jersey barriers were everywhere, the traffic patterns I was used to, coming home a different route than we had taken to get there, were nonexistent. Lanes came out of nowhere, exits that I would normally take, had been Jersey barriered out of existence!

When we got home, safely, thank The Fates, I knew, with a sudden realization, that my night driving in Austin was over, at least to and from areas that require me to take main highways, here

I'm still wrestling with my feelings, this morning. It doesn't feel good.

Have any of you dealt with these monstrosities? :

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treeguy ==this is what we call road cones in the UK. we actually breed them here lol'' our roads are full of them '
blight of our lives -not concrete ' but as dangerous ...
 

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Those Jersey barrier's are one of the major reasons I try not to drive the motor home after dark. Nothing whiten's the knuckles like maneuvering a 38 ft motor home with a 24 ft enclosed trailer in between those tire grabbing devils while a 54 ft semi decides that this is the perfect place to pass you. :sick:
 
squatting dog said:
Those Jersey barrier's are one of the major reasons I try not to drive the motor home after dark. Nothing whiten's the knuckles like maneuvering a 38 ft motor home with a 24 ft enclosed trailer in between those tire grabbing devils while a 54 ft semi decides that this is the perfect place to pass you. :sick:
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Oh man, so well said!

On the way to Durango, pulling a 32' TT, we had to go over a narrow bridge, with Jersey barriers, to boot! I never squeezed my steering wheel harder than that night, no lie!
 
toffee said:
treeguy ==this is what we call road cones in the UK. we actually breed them here lol'' our roads are full of them '
blight of our lives -not concrete ' but as dangerous ...
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We have them here, as well. They don't freak me out, though, like the Jersey barriers.
 
As a concession to my age, nerves and eroding driving skills, I stay off of the interstates, elevated highways, narrow bridges, etc...

I hate the Jersey barriers from my side as a motorist but I believe that they are necessary for the protection of the workmen on the other side.

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Every year, beginning in early Spring, our roads and bridges are filled with construction zones, as the highway crews repair the damage caused by the Winter snow/ice, etc. It's a nuisance that we have to contend with, every year, as the potholes, and aged infrastructure require annual repair. Luckily, living in a rural area, we don't have major traffic issues, but whenever we have to go to the city, I always check the Dept. of Trans. web-site, ahead of time, to see if there are any major detours, etc., along our route, and if so, I plan ways to avoid them.
 
I definitely agree that the Jersey barriers are far more a positive, than a negative.

Thing is, in Austin, they are sometimes put down or left standing, long before/after any construction activity is evident. I've had to call to have them removed, and it's rare that they are.

When these barriers are placed with little, discernible, rhyme or reason, that's when I have a huge problem with them. When lanes run right into them, or exits are routed in such a way that one can go right into an ongoing construction zone, it's on the crew and engineers.

I had to take my old keyboardist to pick up his towed car. The barriers blocked all access to the impound yard, which was right off the highway. After fifteen minutes of driving in circles, I just figured, "Screw this, I'm driving the direct route!" With the protection afforded me by my commercial vehicle, I drove the construction roads right to the impound yard. Road crews saw my signage and waved, figuring I must be doing tree survey work, very common on those jobs.
 
The four seasons in Central Florida: Road construction, road construction, road construction and a 3-week period that stretches between the road being done and the start of new construction on the same road.

So, yes, the barriers are the official Florida State Nuisance.

Why are they called Jersey barriers? First used in New Jersey? Here they're called $#!*^!% or sometimes Road Buffalo.
 
Here, in CA, the only place I see those is on the freeway. Many years ago, I saw a video that explained their purpose. If a driver runs into one, one side of the car is raised up & doesn't flip over and it prevents the car from getting into the opposite lane & avoids a head-on crash.
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jersey_barrier


Now, plastic water-filled barriers of the same general shape are commonly called Jersey barriers, as well. They are not designed to deflect vehicles, so vehicles may penetrate the barriers.

First tested in 1968 by the then Department of Highways in Ontario, Canada, the Ontario Tall Wall is a variant of the Jersey barrier.[10] Standing at 42 inches (107 cm), it is 10 inches (25 cm) taller than the standard Jersey barrier.

The states of New York, Massachusetts and New Jersey have adopted the taller barrier for their roads, as compared to the standard 32 inches .
(I don't know why I find this so interesting).
 
They make me nervous, as well. Always have. But then so do narrow roadways with barriers on either/both sides.

If I had to be at a wedding in downtown Los Angeles (or the other side of LA) at 5:00 pm on a Friday night, I'd leave early enough to arrive in the area by 3:00 pm, well ahead of commuter traffic. Go to a local cafe or pub, have a snack and kill a couple of hours.

On the way home, if there were no well-lit areas, I'd drive slowly and hope someone came up behind me. Pull over, let the vehicle pass, then follow it. Two sets of lights being better than one.
 
Jersey Barriers or K-rails have been around for a long time now. They have prevented accidents over time, not to mention slowed down drivers in construction areas, especially when used as the infamous cattle chutes.

We have been using some that are made of plastics and filled with water. However, in areas where traffic is going in opposite directions are concerned, we use the standard concrete barrier. They make a very inexpensive median, instead of using large amounts of real estate for use as a grass barrier. I have seen some of these things weigh up to 2 tons.

Just slow down and if in your area the DOT has not placed reflectors on them, suggest it, or better yet, start a petition. Contrary to what some believe, petitions have worked. We have had fewer accidents in the areas where these barriers are used compared to non barrier areas.
 
squatting dog said:
Those Jersey barrier's are one of the major reasons I try not to drive the motor home after dark. Nothing whiten's the knuckles like maneuvering a 38 ft motor home with a 24 ft enclosed trailer in between those tire grabbing devils while a 54 ft semi decides that this is the perfect place to pass you. :sick:
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My husband is quite good at maneuvering our motorhome; he never bats an eye in construction zones. (Though from my "nag-a-vator" viewpoint it seems like we are fractions of an inch from disaster. o_O)
 
I no longer drive at night, the coming lights seem to blind me and the only way I can drive is by watching the road stripes to be able to stay on my lane. It's funny because I used to work at night and came home when it was still dark and had no problems. My night vision problem started around the age of 67 or so (I think) and I almost got into a couple of accidents.

@treeguy64 , what you described would have made me panicky. I've never liked big cities, anyway. Glad you're still alive and with us. šŸ˜»
 
911 said:
Jersey Barriers or K-rails have been around for a long time now. They have prevented accidents over time, not to mention slowed down drivers in construction areas, especially when used as the infamous cattle chutes.

We have been using some that are made of plastics and filled with water. However, in areas where traffic is going in opposite directions are concerned, we use the standard concrete barrier. They make a very inexpensive median, instead of using large amounts of real estate for use as a grass barrier. I have seen some of these things weigh up to 2 tons.

Just slow down and if in your area the DOT has not placed reflectors on them, suggest it, or better yet, start a petition. Contrary to what some believe, petitions have worked. We have had fewer accidents in the areas where these barriers are used compared to non barrier areas.
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I think reflectors would be even more of a hassle. I'd hate to see things shining at me as I drove by at 45-55 mph. Where are the reflectors, that you mention, placed?
 
treeguy64 said:
I think reflectors would be even more of a hassle. I'd hate to see things shining at me as I drove by at 45-55 mph. Where are the reflectors, that you mention, placed?
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I agree. I think a better solution is to paint a stripe on them with the same reflective paint(?) they use for road stripes.
 

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