About cable barrier....

In light of this week's tragic wreck on Eastex Freeway, questions have been asked about whether cable barrier is the best solution for stopping cross-over wrecks.

For those of you not familiar with what happened, 36 year old Johnny Langton of Warren, TX, lost his life after a jeep crossed the median and hit his pickup truck head-on. This occurred, despite the fact there is a cable barrier system along that stretch of highway.

Some say a concrete barrier would have prevented the wreck. Others say cable barrier is the best prevention. What is best? Well, it depends on a lot of factors.

There is one very important fact to remember: No barrier technology exists that will eliminate every wreck. As long as there are vehicles and drivers there will, unfortunately, always be crashes. What transportation officials do is try to reduce the number and impact of those wrecks with the latest technologies available.

Much research goes into testing each device. Engineers do not install protection barrier without it first being test, evaluated and certified to meet specific criteria. Traffic safety engineers spend a lot of time...and money...testing barriers to see how each device operates.

CONCRETE TRAFFIC BARRIER
Despite what some believe, concrete traffic barrier is not always the best solution. Concrete barrier is designed to redirect, slow or stop an errant vehicle, and many times will push the vehicle back into traffic. In other words, it redirects the vehicle back into its travel lane...and into the vehicles around it. Also, concrete barrier is not impenetrable. There have been quite a few instances in our district where vehicles have actually gone over the barrier and into the oncoming lanes. When a vehicle hits concrete barrier there is a good probability it will take out the vehicles around it.

METAL GUARDRAIL
Metal guardrail works very much the same way as concrete traffic barrier except that it is metal supported by wooden or metal posts. However, this type of system is much more high maintenance, as once the metal guardrail is hit, it must be replaced.

WIRE CABLE BARRIER
Cable barrier works very much like the arresting cable that stops airplanes landing on aircraft carriers. Unlike concrete traffic barrier, it cushions the blow, slows the vehicle without throwing it back into traffic, and minimizes the forces on the vehicle and its occupants by absorbing most of the energy of the crash. That is a huge improvement over concrete and metal barrier. Also, research has shown that cable barrier reduces crossover crash fatalities by 90% or more. Many tragic wrecks are avoided by using cable barrier...wrecks that nobody ever hears about because the driver hits the barrier and drives away. We have evidence of this by the amount of repairs made to the cable barrier every week by our maintenance forces. Wire cable barrier has stopped not only cars, but speeding 18-wheelers. And earlier this year, cable barrier stopped a bus from crossing over into the median on I-10 near Winnie.

Is there a perfect barrier system that will stop all wrecks? Unfortunately, no. Not even cable barrier will do that. This latest tragic wreck on Eastex Freeway proves that. However, what engineers must do is use the latest technologies to try and reduce the impact of wrecks taking place on the highway. So far, cable barrier seems to do the job far better than the other systems available. One veteran transportation engineer went so far as to say cable barrier is "the best safety improvement I have seen in my 30 years with the department."

Hopefully, one day someone will invent the perfect system. Until then, however, transportation departments around the world must use the latest tools available. And drivers must do their part to drive safely and responsibly.

Marc S.

Roadside Crash Testing

It's doubtful most people ever stop and wonder why, or even how, guardrail is designed. Not to mention the thousands of other safety devices on our area highways and roads.

Quite a bit of research and development goes into designing everything from bridge railing to mailbox poles. It's all a matter of trying to make our highways the best in the nation.

The Texas Transportation Institute is one of the groups that routinely tests safety devices to see how it affects cars, trucks, school buses and other vehicles. Their latest video shows the years of research behind the safety devices on you nearest highway.

So if you dig crash test videos...and some of that music from the 70's make sure to click on the video above.

Marc S

TxDOT to repair “cracks” at busy interchange

Good news about those cracks at the I-10 and Eastex Freeway interchange.
The Beaumont District will soon oversee a project to repair the pavement at what is one of the busiest interchanges in Jefferson County. Workers will begin a three month project to repair highway cracks on January 2nd.

The project involves reinforcing the retaining walls and then lifting and stabilizing the pavement on the main lanes of the highway. While not part of the pavement, retaining walls help keep in place the dirt embankment on the approach to an overpass. Workers will first install piling to help support the retaining wall. Afterwards, crews with Uretek will inject a special polymer material under the pavement. The material expands and lifts the pavement back into its original position. TxDOT used the same process several years ago on the approaches to the Hollywood and College Street overpasses.

Most work will take place at the retaining wall long the north and southbound frontage roads between Gladys and Harrison. Crews will then work on the north and southbound lanes of US 69 for several nights to lift the pavement. Work on the main lanes will take place at night from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. to keep from interfering with rush hour traffic.

More than 90,000 vehicles travel the interchange each day. Gibson and Associates is the contractor for the $790,000 project. Gibson expects the project to be completed by March 2012.

Marc S.

TxDOT to repair section of SH 82

If you use SH 82 between SH 73 and SH 87, here is something you definitely want to pay attention to.

Beginning January 9th, TxDOT will begin resurfacing the highway and replacing the bridge at Alligator Bayou. While it is a relatively small job, it could have a big impact on your morning commute, especially for you refinery/plant workers. (TxDOT held off this project for about two years due to the expansions at various industry, especially at Motiva)

This section of highway has quite a bit of traffic. Shift change can almost make traveling the highway unbearable. That's why the department is trying to minimize as much impact as possible.

The contractor, in this case APAC-TX, will kick off most of their work after the morning shift change. So, your morning commute should be normal. However, the afternoon commute may be a bit longer. Shift change traffic starts around 4:30 and 5 p.m.. APAC hopes to begin taking down their traffic control setup right before the change. However, it takes time to remove all the cones, etc. So, you might run across some extra delays.

Why are we even doing this project? First, the Alligator Bayou bridge needs replacing. It's a matter of safety. Second, the roadway is in need of some major repairs. Roads don't heal themselves.

Why don't we do this work at night? The biggest reason is it drives the cost of the project into some major dollars. Concrete and asphalt plants aren't open at night. So, doing any type of work after hours makes it way too expensive.

What can you expect? Some lane closures during the daytime. Also, some delays.

What can you do? Probably the best advice is to carpool with a group of people. Four people in one vehicle takes three vehicles off the road. Allow plenty of time and don't get frustrated. Workers don't like being out on the roadway closing lanes any more than you like being stuck in traffic. Look at it this way: Your tax dollars are at work going into concrete, steel and asphalt. Some inconvenience? Yes. But in the end you get a safer bridge and resurfaced highway.

We will keep you updated. In the meantime, keep safe and watch out for workers.

Marc S.