A specialty contractor for the Indiana Department of Transportation is installing cable barrier rails along about 10 miles of Interstate 65 this week between mile marker 64.5 south of Columbus and mile marker 54 north of Seymour.
INDOT officials urge motorists to be careful where crews are working in median areas. Lower speed limits will be in place, said Harry Maginity, INDOT spokesman.
George B. Stone Company will have ongoing work with crews, backhoes and concrete trucks along I-65’s inside shoulder and in median areas. Concrete is being poured for foundations for guide posts and end anchors. Next month, the ¾-inch pre-stressed cable will be installed and tensions set, Maginity said.
INDOT prioritizes the locations for the cable barriers based on crash history, traffic volume, speed, median width and road geometry, He said.
Cable barrier rail systems are designed to catch and capture vehicles crossing the median area of a divided highway in a high-tensioned “wire rope” guided through posts and anchored at end posts. These cable rails prevent almost all cross-median crashes which produce half of severe-outcome wrecks and nearly two-thirds of fatalities.
