Those damn, concrete, Jersey barriers!

[Pepper]

@Catlady
What kind of Italian name is Phyllis? I can see Felicia (Philicia?) but Phyllis?

 

[Catlady]

@Catlady
What kind of Italian name is Phyllis? I can see Felicia (Philicia?) but Phyllis?

I hated my birth name so had it changed to an American name when I got my US citizenship. Won't say what the name was, sorry, TMI.

ADDED: My mother was angry and I felt guilty, there was a great story behind the name she gave me.

See, nine months before I was born, my mother dreamed of her dear dead mother, she had been dead one year. The mother handed her an infant girl and told her it was her baby. My mother said, "Then I will name her after you". Her mother bowed to her, turned around, and disappeared. Nine months later I was born, a big baby (9lbs) and the midwife told her I might be a boy, but my mother insisted I was a girl. And so it happened.

 

[911]

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?

Some are placed on the side, near the bottom while others are placed right on top. Some are red, but most are yellow. They are very helpful, especially during foggy, rainy or snowy conditions. People that have issues driving at night have been very appreciative of the reflectors. The men and ladies that drive the big rigs also like them. Unfortunately, Penn DOT (Pennsylvania Department of Transportation) has not placed them on all of the rails.

They are low enough on the rails, so as not to shine back into the driver's eyes. They give the driver a good guide as to where to stay in the lane and not get too close to the rails.

 

[squatting dog]

Speaking of Penn.

 

[Pappy]

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.

The cattle chutes. Almost had a heart attack pulling a 26 foot trailer through them. No room for error, at all. Then of course...there was a tractor trailer right on my arse.

 

[CarolfromTX]

I never knew what they were called specifically, but yeah, Treeguy, I hate those things. I liken them to being in a pinball machine. Remember when they had all that construction on I-35 in little Salado? What a nightmare. I'd rather not even go to Austin anymore, unless it's just passing through, and even then we'll take the toll road. And as for driving in the dark, fuggeddaboutit! Came home late from the rec center last week -- rainy, dark, nasty weather. It's all of five miles from my house and I was relieved to get home. We've lived here over 35 years and I-35 has been a mess in one area or another the entire time.

 

[MarciKS]

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? :

View attachment 92648

We have lots of those in KS.

 

[911]

The cattle chutes. Almost had a heart attack pulling a 26 foot trailer through them. No room for error, at all. Then of course...there was a tractor trailer right on my arse.

Pappy or anyone that pulls a trailer through a tight cattle chute......When you enter the chute, turn on your 4-way flashers. Although it is illegal in this state to drive with them on, when on the interstates or the turnpike here in PA, you are permitted to turn them on if you are traveling below 45 mph.

 

[chic]

All through college I had to drive through those obstacle courses because of all the major constuction they were doing in Harvard Square.