Guardrail Obsession

[TPD]

Why does our state highway administration have an obsession with guard rails, especially in Calvert County? I predict in the next 2 years, Route 4 through Calvert County will be completely ensconced by guardrails. Not only have they put them on the shoulders of the road, but also in the median. AND I have even seen them around utility poles. It is almost like a bumper car track on Route 4. Are drivers that bad in Calvert to necessitate this cost?

And the other question, when someone runs into a guardrail, do they have to reimburse the state for repairs similar to what is required when you clip a utility pole? It appears to be a full time job for the guardrail company just in repairs. I counted at least 5 that need attention between Prince Frederick and Dunkirk last week.

SMDH

 

[GWguy]

I'm thinking it's actually a liability thing, to maybe prevent from getting sued by someone who runs into it. And maybe it's not the state that you'd reimburse, but the power company? Not sure how that works... never hit a pole.

 

[MiddleGround]

Have you seen how many power poles have been taken out by idiot drivers in SOMD? Hell, people can't even keep their cars and trucks on 4 tires!

 

[Grumpy]

Those are eco-friendly guard rails, put there to protect the local flora and fauna and guide the misguided cars back into the highway to destroy other environment destroying vehicles like itself.

 

[vraiblonde]

Why does our state highway administration have an obsession with guard rails, especially in Calvert County?

Same reason they have an obsession with median strips: they know their drivers. If people would stop crashing into stuff, the dummy bars wouldn't be there.

 

[officeguy]

Yes, you have to reimburse SHA if you wrinkle a guardrail.

I am fascinated by peoples ability to hit the end of guardrails. You look on 210 in PG, wherever they put the rail the end is curled up.

The guardrail mania is based on data showing how deadly crossover accidents and hits on utility poles are. I miss the look of the old style divided highways with a wide grassy median. It was more of a 'Park' than an interstate. I noticed a new thing down south (as in 'just across the VA border'). In their wooded areas, they would split the interstate lanes by 150ft or so and leave it treed in between. You would only see the other direction every mile or so at a service crossover. Recently they have started to harvest all the median trees without replanting them. Not sure about the motivation for that change.

The worst however is SHAs obsession to fix the bay by dumping rip-rap in the median. All in an attempt to improve storm water runoff. When in the old days, an excursion into the median ended up with some mud on your car or a fall in the grass with the motorcycle, now you end up with a totaled car by hitting rip-rap or one of those 'cheese grater' guardrails.

 

[PeoplesElbow]

One of my friends in college had a summer job with a state highway administration. His job was to go out with a map and mark on the map where he would rather hit a guard rail than run off the road. They gave him a set of criteria to go by, such as will you fall off the side of a mountain and let him at it.

He told me about sections of guard rail that he told them needed to be there.

 

[LightRoasted]

If I may ...

Why does our state highway administration have an obsession with guard rails, especially in Calvert County? I predict in the next 2 years, Route 4 through Calvert County will be completely ensconced by guardrails. Not only have they put them on the shoulders of the road, but also in the median. AND I have even seen them around utility poles. It is almost like a bumper car track on Route 4. Are drivers that bad in Calvert to necessitate this cost?

And the other question, when someone runs into a guardrail, do they have to reimburse the state for repairs similar to what is required when you clip a utility pole? It appears to be a full time job for the guardrail company just in repairs. I counted at least 5 that need attention between Prince Frederick and Dunkirk last week.

SMDH

View attachment 142015

It is all part of the beautification project of Route 4. Ya see, they weren't just satisfied with SMECO putting up those cleverly designed, nearly impossible to see, electrical transmission poles, because they blend in so wonderfully with the surroundings. So, in order to protect them, the State added, what are now known, as 'short line metallic shrubbery' to further beautify and enhance the aesthetic and visual experience while driving Route 4. Or what is it called? The Scenic Byway? I think you are just not seeing the BIG picture here. A little short sighted maybe?

 

[BernieP]

I'm thinking it's actually a liability thing, to maybe prevent from getting sued by someone who runs into it. And maybe it's not the state that you'd reimburse, but the power company? Not sure how that works... never hit a pole.

do you know how expensive it is to replace signs, poles and other roadside equipment.

 

[softtouch]

Several , maybe a lot of years ago, they planted indigenous wild flowers in the Rte 4 median. They put up "do not mow" signs so they could go to seed and become permanent. Didn't last long. I guess people didn't like the unmowed look.

 

[BernieP]

Several , maybe a lot of years ago, they planted indigenous wild flowers in the Rte 4 median. They put up "do not mow" signs so they could go to seed and become permanent. Didn't last long. I guess people didn't like the unmowed look.

I don't think that's why they keep adding guardrails.

I was being a bit sarcastic when I said it was cheaper to add the guardrail than to keep replacing telephone poles.
But the simple fact is people are going to lose control of their vehicle, it's just going to happen, and those hard, fixed, road side fixtures, like telephone poles tend to do a lot of damage to vehicles and their occupants. Plus when a pole gets taken out, now you have the downed powerline problem. The guardrails are designed to absorb energy, lessening the impact of the collision AND protecting the stationary object.
The primary idea is to save lives by diverting the vehicle from the fixture