Washington State Cable Median Barrier InService

In the mid 1960’s, the New York State Department of Transportation developed a 3-strand cable barrier that has several desirable characteristics as compared to other roadside barriers. This system was crash tested in accordance with the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Report 350 crash test criteria as a roadside barrier. With the roadside barrier, all 3 cables are placed on the traffic side of the posts. Since 1988, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Roadside Design Guide has contained information on a cable median barrier design that has the middle cable mounted on the opposite side of the posts so that it can contain and redirect vehicles that strike the system from either side. In the early 1990’s, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) became interested in using this design for medians that are over 10 m in width. As a result of this interest, WSDOT sponsored crash tests to evaluate the performance of this barrier, in accordance with NCHRP Report 350 criteria, with a small car and a pickup truck. In both tests, the vehicle was contained and brought to a stop. The occupant risk values were within th