The most common types of concrete barrier wall

NJDOT sets the stage

One of the first types of engineered concrete barrier wall was designed back in the 1950’s by the New Jersey Department of Transportation, which became known as Jersey barrier. The Jersey barrier is a reinforced concrete barrier designed to not only prevent head-on collisions, but minimize vehicle damage in case of incidental contact. The Jersey barrier was initially cast-in-place and part of the permanent construction. In addition to permanent barrier walls, concrete barrier wall is used on highway projects as temporary traffic dividers that are removed once construction is complete.

Departments of transportation throughout North America have adopted their own rules and guidelines on concrete barrier wall for permanent and temporary installation. Here are the most common types of concrete barrier wall and their characteristics:

Jersey barrier - "The Godfather"

The Jersey barrier is the most common type of concrete barrier. The standard height for a Jersey barrier is 32”. The design calls for a 3” vertical rise from the pavement, then 10” rise at a 55 degree angle, followed by an 84 degree angle for the remainder of the barrier. You will also see certain DOT’s with a 42” tall Jersey barrier design maintaining the same slope angles.

K-Rail

K-Rail concrete barrier is what the western states, namely California, call a Jersey barrier. Why? We have no idea - let us know if you do.

But we did find this cool video of CalTrans testing "zippers" on Interstate 15:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/hMkLcAstxgA

Ontario Tall Wall

The Ontario Tall Wall was designed by the Department of Highway in Ontario, Canada. It is very similar to Jersey barrier – however, it stands at 42” tall, which is 10” taller than the typical Jersey barrier. The slope angles are the same as Jersey barrier.

Single Slope and Constant Slope Barrier

The single slope barrier was developed in California and is very similar to the constant slope barrier developed in Texas. The slope angle of the single slope barrier in is 9.1 degrees with respect to vertical and the constant slope is 10.8 degrees with respect to vertical. The top of the single slope is 10.5” thick and the constant slope is 8” thick. One of the main advantages of using these types of barriers in a permanent application is the performance of the barrier isn’t affected during roadway repaving. Both single slope and constant slope barrier come in 32” and 42” heights. Because we're based in Houston, we obviously prefer the constant slope barrier.

F-Shape

The F-Shape barrier is a modification of the Jersey barrier. The F-Shape has the same slopes as the Jersey barrier, but the slope break point is 3” lower. The lower slope break point helps reduce the vehicle lift, which provides for a higher performing barrier. In addition to the varying slope break point, the top of the F-Shape is 9” thick, which is 3” thicker than a Jersey barrier.

What's it all mean?

As you can see, there are many different factors when it comes to barrier wall. Over the past several years, many municipalities have started to specify F-Shape over Jersey barrier. As our transportation methods evolve, so will the barrier systems that keep us safe.

We keep a large stock of all types of used and surplus barrier wall from all over North America - check it out today.