I-12 cable barriers put to the test

When an SUV crossed the median into oncoming traffic on Interstate 10 in Slidell last week, many residents were wondering how the accident might have been prevented.

The drivers of both vehicles sustained moderate injuries but the outcome could have been much worse.

The accident came almost on the heels of the completion of the $5.2 million cable barrier project on Interstate 12, which has been called the most dangerous road in the state. The project finished slightly ahead of schedule on Friday, according to Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development spokesman Mark Lambert.

“There is still some tensioning to do, but otherwise the project is completed,” said Lambert.

The three-foot tall barriers, mounted in cement along the sides of the grassy median, are strung with several strands of high-tension metal cable bound together. Designed to deflect vehicles that leave the roadway, the barriers stretch for 32 miles through St. Tammany.

Since the project began in February the barriers have been struck eight times.

“I’m not saying those incidents would have become crossover accidents, but the barriers surely prevented them,” Lambert said.

This is the second project of its kind in the state. Another set of barriers stretching for 6.8 miles along Interstate 10 through St. John Parish was completed in December, and has been struck 45 times.

Lambert said the state is considering whether to install them in other areas of the state, but limited funding means they must pinpoint the next location carefully.

Not all areas are good candidates for the barriers, said Lambert. In Acadiana Parish, for example, the medians are heavily wooded, and the potential for crossover is significantly lessened.

“We want to put them where they will do the most good,” said Lambert.