Thanks to the proliferation of ever-larger SUVs and trucks on U.S. roads -- as well as continued testing and barrier design improvements -- highway experts say the humble Jersey barrier has gotten larger and taller.You'll see the heftier 42 inch versions next on Albany's stretch of Interstate 90, where they're replacing ones about 10 inches shorter."'Sport utility vehicles are getting bigger, with a higher center of gravity and all that,' noted Jim Growney, a highway safety engineer with the New York division office of the Federal Highway Administration in Albany.""The federal government sets a minimum standard for median protection structures, which includes 32-inch-high concrete barriers and a sturdy version of 'box beam' guardrails. Massachusetts and New York, however, are among states that now are often opting to install 42-inch barriers, rated at a higher grade when they pave or do other reconstruction."
Thanks to Sam Gold
