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Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Cable barriers on I-85 could reduce deaths
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Thomas Edward Brown died in a crash near the Hamilton Mill exit on I-85 recently.
In May, recently installed cable barriers in the median of I-85 stopped four cross-over crashes in Franklin and Hart counties.
Three of the collisions occurred during heavy rain on May 5; the fourth crash happened the next day.
Not one of the vehicles crossed over the median.
Not one went into the interstate in the other direction, into traffic.
The cable barriers may not stop all cross-over crashes, notably if a car is airborne, said Teri N. Pope, spokeswoman for the Georgia Department of Transportation northeast district that includes Gwinnett.
But they definitely help.
Just last Wednesday, Thomas Edward Brown, 17, of Hoschton was killed near the Hamilton Mill exit on I-85.
According to police, his 1999 Dodge Dakota was traveling southbound when it left the road, crossed an unprotected, grassy median, and collided with a northbound tractor-trailer truck.
He’d been en route to the Lawrenceville Methodist Campground to take part in a community service project in which teens repair homes for the needy. He died at the scene.
Authorities don’t know what caused Brown to leave his side of the road. Drugs and alcohol don’t appear to be factors. The investigation continues.
After I wrote about Brown, Laura Dillon of Dacula, a concerned reader, sent me an e-mail with a link to a year-old USA Today article: “Lives saved as highways get cable.”
“If the AJC could run with this and help make our roads safer, it would be invaluable,” she wrote.
Well, the DOT is already making the investment.
In January, the agency began installing cable barriers along a stretch of I-85 that runs from the southern Franklin County line to the South Carolina state line.
The $5.3 million, 23.65-mile project was completed in early May.
Now it’s Gwinnett’s turn.
The state will install the same type barriers along grassy medians from Ga. 20, near the Mall of Georgia, to Franklin County (about 40 miles).
Construction on the $9 million project, as well as a separate $7 million installation that takes in I-985 up to Exit 24 (about 24 miles), is scheduled to begin next year, Pope told me.
The barriers are 4 feet tall with woven horizontal cables that are supported with vertical steel posts and concrete foundations. The posts, which absorb the impact of the vehicle, are designed to be replaced.
In the USA Today article, transportation experts touted the low cost and high success rate of cable barriers.
Cable costs about 30 percent less than steel and 50 percent less than concrete. The Utah Department of Transportation installed the barriers in a nine-mile test area susceptible to median crossovers, according to the article.
The number of fatalities related to crossovers dropped from 12 to zilch over a two-year period.
David Studstill, the Georgia DOT’s chief engineer, praised their effectiveness.
“It’s like running into a barrier on an aircraft carrier,” he told me.
“It basically catches you before you go over the median.”
And, it is hoped, saves lives.
— Rick Badie’s column appears on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Contact him at 770-263-3875 or e-mail rbadie@ajc.com.
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The Badie Tour
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
To save lives. Protect families. That’s the mission of Gwinnett County’s firefighters. Last week, Charleston, S.C., lost nine men who shared that purpose. On Wednesday, Rick Badie, your AJC Gwinnett News columnist, will spend the day with Station No. 11 in Norcross. He’ll even accompany them on calls. Read about the Badie Tour, online and in print, in Thursday’s newspaper.
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