September 28, 2016

Barrier that looks like a semi-trailer saves construction crew in Clark County

Photo from WSDOT [enlarge]

Photo from Mobile Barriers [enlarge]

Crews working on a $5.3 million pavement rehab project on Interstate 5 in Clark County were saved by a mobile barrier system that WSDOT is testing.

In the early hours of Aug. 6, a driver crashed into the barrier. The errant vehicle defected off the barrier and workers replacing concrete panels on the other side were unscathed. A WSDOT blog post says the driver was arrested and charged with DUI and 32 counts of reckless endangerment — one charge for each person working on the highway.

The barrier is basically a steel wall connected to a semi-truck trailer that can be parked or pulled along the freeway while road work is underway. It was made by Mobile Barriers of Golden, Colorado.

Mobile Barriers' website says the barriers can be configured in lengths from 42 to 102 feet, and the wall facing traffic can be on the right or left side.

WSDOT says the barriers can be difficult to maneuver in traffic and in small work areas because of their size. They also are more expensive than traffic cones: the lease for this barrier is $125,000. The agency is looking at ways to use mobile barriers on more of its jobsites, for both construction and maintenance.

Granite Construction Co. is WSDOT's contractor on the Clark County job. Granite is fixing nearly 10 miles of I-5 between the I-5/Interstate 205 split and the North Fork Lewis River Bridge.

Crews are replacing more than 140 concrete panels on southbound I-5 that are cracked beyond repair. The panels are 9 to 12 inches thick and were built in the 1970s.

Crews also are repaving the northbound lanes that are concrete panels topped with asphalt.

Granite's work should be finished by year end.