3 Types of Highway Barriers and How We Use Them for Safety

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British Columbia’s beautiful, but rugged, terrain means our highway infrastructure must often hug mountainsides and carry over chasms. One of the most important ways we protect travellers’ safety is by installing highway barriers to stop vehicles from leaving the roadway or crossing into oncoming traffic during an incident.

To determine where barriers are needed, we use a warrant system that considers factors such as:

  • Traffic volume
  • Design speed
  • Degree of highway curvature
  • Highway grade
  • Embankment height
  • Proximity to roadside hazards

We rely on this assessment to ensure areas with the greatest need for barriers are addressed first.

Barriers come in different forms and are installed for specific purposes. Let’s begin our exploration of barriers by going over three ways they are strategically located on the highway before delving into the three main types of construction.

3 Places for Barriers

Median Barriers – These are used to separate opposing directions of traffic on a highway. Median barriers are designed to redirect vehicles striking either side of the barrier, keeping motorists safe from head on collisions.

An example of a major median barrier initiative is the Highway 1 – Malahat Safety Improvements, which has divided approximately 60 per cent of the corridor with median barrier. Once the proposed Goldstream Median Barrier Widening project is completed, over 75 per cent of the Malahat corridor will be divided.

Since median barriers can restrict emergency vehicles from accessing an incident, and reduce detour options for travellers, we will sometimes install a steel emergency access gate, called a Vulcan Barrier, in the median which can be opened to allow vehicles to cross.

malahat median barrier
Median barrier installation as part of Highway 1 – Malahat Safety Improvements.

Roadside Barriers – These are used to shield motorists from natural or human-made obstacles on the outside portion of the road. Roadside barriers are also designed to stop a vehicle from leaving the road and striking a fixed object or a terrain feature (think mountain) or lack thereof (think river valley) that is less forgiving than striking the barrier itself.

Crash Attenuators — Have you ever noticed large groups of barrels (which we fill with sand) or accordion-style cushions placed strategically along the roadway?

Known as crash attenuators or crash cushions, these safety devices act as a buffer between errant vehicles and the ends of a barrier system or other fixed object (such as a bridge pier). There are also portable attenuators that can be set up in work zones to protect workers and travellers. They absorb the shock of impact should a vehicle hit them, reducing the severity.

Now that we’ve described three ways barriers can be placed as safeguards, let’s go over the three main types of barriers.

3 Types of Barriers

Concrete Barriers – This is the most common type of barrier used in BC (pictured above). Concrete barriers are rigid, relatively easy to maintain and very effective at containing vehicles.

Concrete barriers last a long time and require little maintenance, even after having been impacted in a collision. They are an effective way to divide the highway while preventing people from drifting across the centreline into oncoming traffic or drifting off the side of the highway.

However, highway widths that are on the narrower side can limit where we can install concrete median barriers, which are about half a metre wide at the base. Imagine adding another metre to either side of the barrier to keep traffic at a safe distance, and you can see why putting in a barrier could mean we need to widen the highway, which isn’t always feasible.

You may wonder why some concrete barriers have holes through them. The holes you see halfway up the concrete median barrier allow equipment to lift them. Meanwhile, at the bottom of the barrier at the asphalt surface, there are weeping holes (AKA scuppers) to allow water to move, thus reducing pooling. Barriers without lifting holes exist, too, and road crews typically lift these by clamping to a piece at the top of the barrier.

Steel Barriers – These barriers consist of a metal beam (shaped like a W) which is supported by a series of wooden or steel posts. Steel barriers are designed to give way slightly under impact, preventing the vehicle from leaving the roadway while helping to minimize the shock of impact that travels back to the vehicle and passengers.

steel barrier on bridge
Steel barrier on a temporary bridge on Highway 8, east of Spences Bridge.

Cable Barriers – Rope-like cable barriers are also in place along stretches of highway. These tensioned cable barriers prevent median crossover crashes and off-road crashes. Cable barriers absorb a lot of the force, and thanks to its flexibility, they reduce much of the damage that can occur with some of the more rigid barriers. Also, the open design of the cable system minimizes visual obstruction, reduces accumulation of drifting snow along the roadway, and provides better sightlines on curved roads.

We first started using cable barriers around 2005, installing them around Harrison Hot Springs and then again near Chilliwack. They quickly demonstrated their worth, with the Chilliwack barriers alone credited for preventing dozens of crossover collisions in the first few years after installation.

While these benefits make cable barriers a good choice in some places, they’re not suitable everywhere. Because they are flexible, they need to be used in areas where there is enough room for the fence to stretch and absorb the impact without creating a safety hazard for other vehicles.

Cable barrier with crash attenuator in the background.
Cable barrier with crash attenuator in the background.

These are just a few of the ways we are working to keep travellers safe on BC Highways. You might have seen some of our other road safety features, such as:

We constantly monitor highway safety and improve high risk locations wherever we can. We also follow national design guidelines and practices that incorporate road and roadside safety features like travel lane width, shoulder lane width, and clear zones to minimize the crash severity if a vehicle leaves the roadway.

Hungry for more? Read more blogs about transportation safety. Here are a few suggestions:

>> Scalers – Top to Bottom Rock Removal Specialists

>> Why Automated Flagger Assistance Devices (AFAD) are Here to Stay

>> How to Help Volunteer Firefighters Help Others on BC Highways

* This blog has been updated since its original publication in 2016

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Page 1 of 62 comments on “3 Types of Highway Barriers and How We Use Them for Safety”

Leave a Reply to Rudi Leonhardt Cancel reply

  1. How do I enquire about plans for specific highways and if they are slated to be divided in the future? There are an excessive amount of fatal car accidents on highway 16 between Prince George and Vanderhoof and there should be plans to address this…

    • Hello Jane. Thanks for connecting with us. In this case, because this stretch of highway covers over 100km, we would encourage you to submit a detailed inquiry via email to tran.webmaster@gov.bc.ca. That way we can get more specifics on the areas of concern and be able to respond and provide follow-up more easily.

  2. Hello
    I am interested in knowing how one goes about getting a “barrier“ put on a dangerous curve in hwy 19A. In the last month there have been 2 accidents on the same spot. There is signage indicating the curve but something is lacking as crashes have happened regularly over the years. When the two vehicles left the road they crashed through fences and caused significant property damage, just missing a house. Some of the signage was knocked down as well but I assume Mainroad will replace that. Thank heavens there were no cars in the other lane or people about. Both accidents took place during daylight hours.
    This is a public safety concern. How can I get the ministry out to evaluate the site?

    • Hello Beverley,
      Thanks for reaching out to us here. We encourage you to reach out to our staff in the Nanaimo area office for more info. Here’s their contact info:
      Vancouver Island District
      3rd floor – 2100 Labieux Rd.
      Nanaimo, BC V9T 6E9
      250-751-3246

      Hours of operation:
      Monday to Friday
      8:30 am to 12:30 pm
      1:00 pm to 4:30 pm

  3. Hi,
    If you recall last winter the Alex Fraser bridge was shut down due to delayed snow removal/winter road preparations which led to hundreds maybe even thousands of vehicles including mine getting trapped Eastbound on the East-West connector for around 10 hours. I and my wife were the lucky ones to have just left a restaurant in Richmond around 9 pm that night, there were many others that were going home from work.
    There was at least one city bus among the trapped vehicles which was full of passengers including many ladies. Some these ladies needed to go to washroom and I am certain they delayed it hopping that the road will be open soon, finally they had to use the ditch on the side of the road to do relieve themselves, this happened in one of the best countries in the world!
    The Westbound part of the road was clear because there were vehicles trapped on the South side of the Alex Fraser bridge.
    This hardship is relatively insignificant if vehicles get trapped again because of a natural disaster!
    There’s a simple solution to avoid vehicles from getting trapped in a similar situation, and that is having relatively low-cost emergency relief gates like rail road arms to replace the HWY safety barriers/dividers (with security cameras) every 5-10 KMs along the routes having such barriers. These gates could be locked and the keys would be carried in every emergency vehicle/police cruiser in that region to unlock the gates and direct/allow the vehicles to use the opposite direction of the road and get to their destination.

    • Hello, Abbas – thank you for taking the time to share your feedback with us. Unfortunately, last winter’s events were due largely to vehicles not having effective winter tires on, causing them to lose traction and block traffic over the bridge, preventing maintenance vehicles from clearing the roadway. We appreciate your suggestion and will share it forward with our staff in the area for their review. Thanks again for all of your suggestions – we appreciate it. Safe travels.

    • Hi Kurt – our engineers follow road safety developments closely with an eye for usefulness on BC Highways.

      When new products are being developed, we have a lot of questions we need answered about these product around functionality, safety, testing, maintainability, life cycles costs and public needs before we consider it for use our roads. For example:

      How will it perform on an operational highway?
      How long will it last before it needs to be repaired or replaced?
      How expensive will it be to install, maintain and replace?

      Hope this information is helpful! Safe travels.

  4. Does BC have the most concrete (Jersey) barriers of any jurisdiction in the world? Most other parts of North America primarily use wood+steel guardrails on their highways, while BC has a much higher ratio of Jersey barriers.

    • Hi Rave,

      We can’t speak to world stats but we can say that concrete (or Jersey) barriers are rigid, relatively easy to maintain and very effective at containing vehicles. They last a long time and require little maintenance, even after having been impacted in a collision and are an effective way to divide the highway while preventing people from drifting across the centre line into oncoming traffic or drifting off the side of the highway (which in BC’s mountainous terrain – is a good thing). Hope this helps to clarify.

  5. Why are concrete barriers so dominant on BC highways? Compared to steel barriers, they are ugly and impair the views of the beautiful scenery. Their uneven lines make them look as if they are temporary and unfinished and are far more invasive than the smooth lines of steel barriers. I can only think it’s because they are more cost-efficient. Unfortunately, they are a blight on beautiful BC’s highways.

    • Hi there David and thank you for your comment. |Concrete barriers last a long time and require little maintenance, even through a collision. They’re a great way to divide the highway and prevent people from drifting across the centre line into oncoming traffic. Cable barriers are relatively new on the scene here in BC. You can learn more about how and where we are using these safety devices. Cable barriers are used as both roadside and median barriers. In B.C., we’ve been using them along the middle of a highway to keep vehicles from crossing over into oncoming traffic.

      If a car leaves its lane and collides with the barrier, the cables actually absorb a lot of that force, and thanks to its flexibility, it reduces a lot of the damage that can occur with some of the more rigid barriers. The cables also improve sight lines for drivers, and in the event of a collision, they’re quick and easy to repair. While these facts make cable barriers a good choice in some places, they’re not suitable everywhere. Because they are flexible, they need to be used in areas where there is enough room for the fence to stretch and absorb the impact without creating a safety hazard for other vehicles. We hope this information is helpful.

      https://www.tranbc.ca/2011/05/09/building-barriers-to-boost-highway-safety/

    • Hi Michael. Good question. The holes you see halfway up the concrete median barrier are for lifting (although a clamping mechanism is also used). At the bottom of the barrier at the asphalt surface, there are also weeping holes to allow water to move and not pool. Barriers without lifting holes exist, too – these are typically lifted by clamping to a piece at the top of the barrier. Here’s a photo via our Flickr: https://bit.ly/3JI1WHl

      • Interesting, I also noticed that in some places, the barriers are fixed in place but most of the ones we get are movable (can still be lifted out of place), why is that?

        • Hi again, Michael

          Having movable barriers allows our staff and contractors to remove the barriers if required during a closure incident to allow vehicles to detour around the event and along the other side of the roadway.

          • Then why do some places still use fixed in place barriers? Also, I noticed that the first section of Okanagan Connector from Merritt to Aspen Grove have no median barriers. Why is that? It feels dangerous driving that stretch especially by the fact that it’s a 100-110km/h windy mountain road. They should install median barriers on that first section of Okanagan Connector from Merritt to Aspen Grove, the space is already there as there is already 4 lanes so no road expansion or modification is needed to install barriers.

          • Hi again Michael. It is hard to say why some highways might use more fixed barriers than others. It could be because there are other turnaround options but without knowing the exact location, we can’t say for sure. Regarding your comment about the Okanagan Connector – median barriers require a certain amount of space on top of what is already available for lane travel. We will share your suggestion regarding medians on this stretch forward with our engineering staff. Here’s a link to more information on how we use median barriers.

            https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/driving-and-transportation/transportation-infrastructure/engineering-standards-and-guidelines/highway-design-and-survey/tac/tac-2019-supplement/bctac2019-chapter-0600.pdf

          • I agree that the Okanagan Connector should have median barriers.

            The older freeway section of 97C from Aspen Grove to Kelowna has a grass median (it’s pretty small, I think it could probably use some cable barriers). This section had a speed limit of 110 km/h, which was raised to 120 km/h, then lowered back to 110 km/h.

            The other section from Aspen Grove to Kelowna was widened from 2 lanes to 4 around 2007-ish when it was clear that bypassing Merritt wasn’t going to happen. This section has (very few) intersections / driveways and the speed limit was raised from 100 km/h to 110 km/h, then lowered back to 100 km/h. The only separation between oncoming traffic is a few feet of asphalt, where there is definitely enough room for a concrete barrier, which given these relatively high speeds, it should probably have.

            There are lots of new-ish (last 10-15 years) sections of highway (newer parts of Highway 1 and 97 come to mind) with no median barriers but plenty of room to add one.

            Major highways / freeways in most other jurisdictions have barriers or large grass medians (idk why we stopped building those). Add them ffs. I get that we should “value engineer” to a point, but this province seems to take it to the extreme (Highway 91 opening with several traffic lights in the 1980s, Highway 17 already being upgraded 10 years later due to being built to the lowest possible standard, Nanaimo Parkway traffic lights…).

  6. Hwy 4 Kennedy Hill Improvement Project
    A section of this project area on the west bound lane is steep and is without roadside barriers. For months, all that has been placed there to alert drivers are orange cones.
    There are roadside barriers along other steep drop-offs along the construction site.
    Is there a reason why drivers are not more protected?
    Many residents on the west coast are not comfortable with this dangerous section of the road. We had relatives visit from Ontario recently and they also commented on this unprotected section of the road.
    We wander if a vehicle goes over the edge, will they then install roadside barriers?

    • Hello Kellyanne – thank you for taking the time to connect with us here and share your concern. We shared your message with our staff on the project team. The team has reviewed the site to consider where safety concerns may be – particularly steep drop offs from the edge of the road. At the end of the day, the tubular delineators are sufficient by the contract and standard construction practice, but to support concern for safety (on a safety improvements project), we will place barrier to protect motorists further.

      Current Condition:
      The section of road that is unprotected by barrier is constructed to its final design width, including shoulder and it is paved with bottom lift pavement. This is a construction zone and barrier removed signs are up. Speed limit is 30km/h, but it is traffic controlled 24 hours per day/7 days per week, and traffic speeds through the site are very low at all times. The road is super elevated away from the fill slope as it is a curve to the left, so in icy conditions, traffic will not slide towards the fill slope. Plastic delineators are set along the shoulder.

      The project team has asked the contractor to install barriers on the edge of the westbound lane at the northern end of the site replacing the orange tubular delineators, and protecting motorists from the slope.

      We hope that this information is helpful and this action helps motorists travelling the route feel more secure. Safe travels.

  7. If BC is going to build more four-laned highways, build them right! At least bring back the grass median! It allows for snowplows to store snow in the centre and no obstructions.

    • Hello again Richard,

      As mentioned previously, through the passage of time, the cost of highways using depressed medians tends to have grown at a much greater rate in the more populated areas of the province. In remote areas that have few people, are not in mountains, and are not in constrained valleys with many things going on, costs of building can be comparable. However, the majority of growth in British Columbia recently has occurred in heavily populated, geographically restricted areas.

      In a province of mountains, valleys, rivers, lakes, agricultural lands, railway lines, and private lands, using less real estate will have fewer impacts, less environmental impacts, less agricultural impacts, less land acquisition, and less costs to build than highways with a depressed (grassy) median.

      We hope that this helps to clarify your concerns.

  8. Hello,

    Is that a way to ask TranBC if they would consider installing Jersey barriers along the outside of a busy highway corner? There is a safety concern as there are residential properties next to the highway on the outside of the corner.

    Thank you!

    • Hi Jesse,

      If you’d like to provide further information about the location you are concerned about, I can forward that the our person responsible for that area.

  9. Hello! Perusing your site, and found a very number of interesting comments and information shared.

    I wanted to find out about the Upper Levels highway in North Vancouver. I understand it opened in 1964, and I believe at the time there were no concrete median dividers installed then. What year did they install these barriers (after having unfortunately experienced a number of head on collisions between cars.)

    Thank you in advance for your courteous response.

    • Hello again Shaun,

      Here’s what we heard. The Upper Levels highway was rebuilt by the ministry in the mid 70’s and our ministry engineers believe median barriers were installed as a part of this work. It was rebuilt with grade separated interchanges in the 1990’s/2000’s. The work especially improved the westerly portions from Horseshoe Bay to Taylor Way.

      We hope this information is helpful.

  10. B.C still needs to get it done right. These “4-lane ” highways should have grassy medians instead of a wide paved strip or Jersey barrier. A 4-laned highway with a grass median allows for future expansion instead of having to expropriate more property. Also during a heavy snowfall, the snow can be moved to the median. Why is B.C. moving away from grass medians?

    • Hello again Richard,

      Here’s what we heard back:

      It comes down to what the project determines is the best approach, which generally often comes down to cost. Less cost generally means more can get done. Through the passage of time, the cost of highways using depressed medians tends to have grown at a much greater rate in the more populated areas of the province. In remote areas that have few people, are not in mountains, and are not in constrained valleys with many things going on, costs of building can be comparable. However, the majority of growth in British Columbia recently has occurred in heavily populated, geographically restricted areas.

      In a province of mountains, valleys, rivers, lakes, agricultural lands, railway lines, and private lands, using less real estate will have fewer impacts, less environmental impacts, less agricultural impacts, less land acquisition, and less costs to build than highways with a depressed (grassy) median.

      We hope that this helps to clarify your concerns.

      • Why isn’t the transportation board using drainage slot jersey barriers on the highways, yes there would still be mud on the highways in a situation like we are currently experiencing, however the water would definitely be removed off the highway at a faster rate, possibly causing less rivers and lakes.

        • Hi Rudy,

          We do use wide mouth scupper barriers in locations which see high volumes of water on the road during rain events. These recent events fall outside the “normal” category, as mudslide and debris flows such as these are not predictable in nature. Thanks for your comments. Stay safe.

  11. Every 4 lane project design starts with a median width providing sufficient shy distance for future installation of median barrier.

    Almost inevitably the extra median width is first to get “value-engineered” out of the design: Because any width reduction is a significant savings cost. And the design calls for ‘future median barrier’.

    A couple of gruesome head-ons later the median barrier is called for. And placement of it turns the left lane into bit of a tunnel because you don’t have the right median width. See Hwy 97 Vernon to Kelowna, for example.

    The Queen would not approve of this short-sightedness on her Highways.

    This practice needs to stop.

    • Hi Kathleen,

      Blue reflectors are often used in municipalities to mark where fire hydrants are located off the side of the road but not visible from the road.

      The South Island District has also been placing them along the island highway where critical highway drainage structures are located.

      The ministry also places small red reflective tabs placed along high snow volume routes, to help plow operators identify areas where they need to be aware of their snow load.

      We hope that this information is helpful – thanks for connecting with us!

      • My son asked me this question the other night heading south on the Inland Island Hwy between Courtenay and Parksville. What you said totally makes sense. Is that the same for North Island? In some stretches there seemed to be a lot of them bunched closely together, often on both sides of the road

  12. Where is my comment about the fatality on highway 97 today? I posted it for the public that you serve to be able to see the lack of Ministry action with median barriers.

    • Hi there Gary – we received your messages but our system will automatically hold them for our review before they are posted to the site. We have shared your concerns with local area staff and will let you know what we hear back.

  13. Your Article says you ‘constantly monitor highway safety and improve high risk locations wherever we can’. You have failed miserably evidenced by the fatality today on Highway 97 north of Summerland. Another unnecessary death on our highways. I have watched this happen time and time again on this highway between Vernon and Penticton. You only seem to react when we reach a certain threshold of fatalities. Last set of barriers installed were after a young 15 year old was killed near Vernon, before that a father of three young children north of the Kelowna airport. It is proven to be the most effective in this type of collision. How can you stand by and watch this carnage every year. Please contact myself at the below email. This must stop!!

    • Hi Gary – thank you for your messages – we have received them – just wanted to confirm that all comments to the site are automatically held for review prior to posting. We have shared your concern directly with local area staff for review. We will let you know what we hear back.

    • Hello Gary – thanks again for your comments.

      Safety is the ministry’s highest priority, and we conduct regular safety performance reviews on all provincial highways to help identify locations for future safety improvements. One such safety treatment is the use of concrete median and roadside barrier (CMB and CRB).

      To determine where barrier is needed, the ministry uses a warrant system that considers factors such as the traffic volume, design speed, degree of highway curvature, the grade of the highway, the embankment height and the proximity to roadside hazards. The ministry relies on this assessment to ensure that areas with the greatest need are addressed first.

      Several sections along the lake Okanagan between Penticton and Peachland have been identified and scheduled for design and cost estimate which will be performed in the next year. Once the design and cost estimates are complete, budgetary constraints and competing priorities, will dictate how much and in what locations new barrier is installed in the future.

      We hope that this helps.

      Thanks again for connecting with us here and sharing your concerns.

    • Hi there Marc. Are you referring to a slope alongside a BC highway? If so, we’d love to connect you directly with a local area manager for review. If this is on private property, you might want to ask a local contractor?

  14. Can we please get median and side barriers for the entire highway from Abbotsford to Surrey? There are so many needless roll-overs because there is a crash and then the vehicle can fly into the ditch. If there were to be a barrier there, the car would not roll over. There are stretches of highway where there is a light pole (eg. going east close to the 176 rd entrance/exit bridge) with no barrier protecting it from the fast moving vehicles zipping by. A small investment in barriers can protect the lives of our loved ones.

    Not to mention, the HOV lane ends by 200 st going east. There is too much traffic these days for 2 lanes to suffice from abby to surrey and vice versa. Please expand the highway to at least 3 lanes, but we need four in actuality, with one being HOV.

    We need extra exits and entrances. There are too many bottlenecks: 200st entrance going east with the HOV lane ending, going uphill, always results in braking. This is extremely unsafe.

  15. I can think of plenty of locations on the Trans-Canada around Revelstoke where the absence of barriers means that crashes impact into rock faces or down steep banks into forest. I can also remember several fatal accidents in those locations on this most lethal highway in the region of the province with the highest rate of fatal accidents. Then there are all the center line crossing accidents that would be avoided if the highway was 4 laned with median barriers.

    Maybe by the middle of this century we will see some of these locations made safe 🙁

    • Of course it isn’t as simple as just putting barriers on existing highways. In many locations the shoulders are too narrow – putting barriers there just means that a broken down vehicle, or a highway worker’s vehicle, can’t stop without blocking the travel lane. On a highway that sees as much maintenance – particularly winter maintenance at night – this would be a very serious problem. (But if we had four lanes not two…)

    • Hi Nick,

      If you have a concern with a particular location, please let us know and we will send it forward for review by the appropriate district. As you know, the goal of the Trans-Canada four-laning project is to improve highway safety on this important corridor. We continue to work to improve safety on this highway and across the province.

      • We need to start a massive crackdown on tailgating and raise the penalty for it. Set up cops on the highway just for this tell them to leave their radars off and look just for tailgaters.

        I say $300 ticket first time $500 and 2 month suspension every time after that (though we cant really suspend licenses from an *ahem* certain province with red license plates who are responsible for a lot of the tailgating.

  16. We could do with some roadside barriers along Eastside Road in Penticton-Okanagan Falls as well as along Highway 97 for Penticton-Okanagan Falls-Oliver and probably Penticton-Summerland-Kelowna as there have been instances of foolish drivers exceeding the limit and ending up in lakes or down cliff sides.